The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly known as AFCON, will be held in Morocco this year, kicking off in the capital Rabat on Sunday. Hosts Morocco will play Comoros in the opening game of the four-week tournament. The final will be held on January 18th at the 69,500-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. Nine venues in six cities were selected for the continent’s flagship event. The 24 participating teams will be divided into six groups, and a total of 68 games will be played. The group stage will run until December 31st, with the knockout stage starting on January 3rd.
Here are the team, group, format, match dates, kick-off times and venue details for AFCON 2025.
teams and groups
⚽ Group A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros
⚽ Group B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe
⚽Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania
⚽Group D: Senegal, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Benin, Botswana
⚽Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan
⚽Group F: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique
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format
The top two teams in each group and the top four teams in third place will advance to the knockout stage starting with the round of 16, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. A match for third place will also be held between the two teams that lost in the semi-finals.
In the knockout stage, if the match is tied at the end of regular game time, the teams will play 30 minutes of extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shootout.
Match schedule
⚽Group stage
December 21st
Group A: Morocco vs Comoros (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8pm/7pm GMT)
December 22nd
Group A: Mali vs Zambia (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30pm GST)
Group B: Egypt vs Zimbabwe (Adrar Stadium, 6pm/6pm Japan time)
Group B: South Africa vs Angola (Marrakech Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 23rd
Group C: Nigeria vs Tanzania (Fez Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)
Group C: Tunisia vs Uganda (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 3:30pm/14:30pm GST)
Group D: Senegal vs Botswana (Ibn Battuta Stadium, 6pm JST)
Group D: DR Congo vs Benin (Al Balid Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 24th
Group E: Algeria vs Sudan (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 1pm/12pm GST)
Group E: Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30pm GST)
Group F: Ivory Coast vs Mozambique (Marrakech Stadium, 6pm JST)
Group F: Cameroon vs Gabon (Adral Stadium, 8:30pm / 19:30pm Japan time)
christmas day off
December 26th
Group A: Morocco vs Mali (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 1pm/12pm Japan time)
Group A: Zambia vs Comoros (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30pm GST)
Group B: Egypt vs South Africa (Adrar Stadium, 6pm/6pm Japan time)
Group B: Angola vs Zimbabwe (Marrakech Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 27th
Group C: Nigeria vs Tunisia (Fes Stadium, 1pm/12pm GST)
Group C: Uganda vs Tanzania (Al Barid Stadium, 3:30pm/14:30pm GST)
Group D: Senegal vs DR Congo (Ibn Battuta Stadium, 6pm JST)
Group D: Benin vs Botswana (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 28th
Group E: Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 1pm/12pm GST)
Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Sudan (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30pm GST)
Group F: Ivory Coast vs. Cameroon (Marrakech Stadium, 6pm JST)
Group F: Gabon vs Mozambique (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 29th
Group A: Comoros vs Mali (Stade Mohammed V, 6:30pm/17:30 GMT)
Group A: Zambia vs Morocco (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 6:30pm JST)
Group B: Angola vs Egypt (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Group B: Zimbabwe vs South Africa (Marrakech Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30pm GST)
December 30th
Group C: Tanzania vs Tunisia (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 6pm JST)
Group C: Uganda vs Nigeria (Fez Stadium, 6pm/6pm GST)
Group D: Benin vs Senegal (Ibn Battuta Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Group D: Botswana vs Democratic Republic of the Congo (Al Barid Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30pm GST)
December 31st
Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 6pm/6pm GST)
Group E: Sudan vs Burkina Faso (Stade Mohammed V, 6pm JST)
Group F: Gabon vs Ivory Coast (Marrakech Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Group F: Mozambique vs Cameroon (Adral Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Closed on January 1st and 2nd
⚽Round 16
January 3rd
Winners Group D vs. 3rd Group B/E/F (Ibn Battuta Stadium, 6pm/6pm Japan time)
Runners-up Group A vs Runners-up Group C (Stade Mohammed V, 8:30pm local / 19:30pm GMT)
January 4th
Winners Group A vs. 3rd Group C/D/E (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 6pm/6pm Japan time)
Runners-up Group B vs Runners-up Group F (Al Balid Stadium, 8:30pm local time/8:30pm Japan time)
January 5th
Winners Group B vs. 3rd Group A/C/D (Adrar Stadium, 6pm/6pm Japan time)
Winners Group C vs. 3rd Group A/B/F (Fes Stadium, 8:30pm local time / 19:30pm GMT)
January 6th
Winners Group E vs Runners-up Group D (Moulet Hassan Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Winners Group F vs. Runners-up Group E (Marrakech Stadium, 8:30pm local/19:30 GMT)
Closed on January 7th and 8th
⚽Quarterfinals
January 9th
Quarterfinals 1 (Ibn Battuta Stadium, 6pm/6pm Japan time)
Quarter-final 2 (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
January 10th
Quarterfinal 3 (Marrakech Stadium, 6pm/6pm Japan time)
Quarter-final 4 (Adral Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Closed on January 11th, 12th, and 13th
⚽Semifinals
January 14th
QF1 Winner vs QF4 Winner (Ibn Battuta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
QF3 Winner vs QF2 Winner (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Closed on January 15th and 16th
⚽ 3rd place deciding match
January 17th
Loser SF1 vs. Loser SF2 (Stade Mohammed V, 8pm local / 19:00 GMT)
⚽Finals
January 18th
Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8pm local / 19:00 GMT)
