Anger Spreads Over AFCON 2025 Schedule as Morocco Seeks to End Half-Century Wait
AFCON 2025 will be hosted by Morocco across six cities including Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Agadir, Tangier, and Fez. The tournament's opener will feature Morocco taking on Comoros in Rabat. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has scheduled the tournament from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026 to avoid clashes with UEFA competitions. However, this schedule has attracted criticism due to the reduced preparation time for teams, as players will only be released starting 15 December.
Coaches Patrice Beaumelle and Gernot Rohr have voiced concerns about the short lead-in time and the lack of clear dates for player release. A FIFA official has acknowledged that the calendar problems facing African football are systemic. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has previously criticized the biennial AFCON format as "useless" and suggested moving to a four-year cycle. In 2021, he proposed autumn international windows as part of ongoing debates about Africa's football calendar.
AFCON remains commercially significant, with CAF aiming for more than $1 billion in guaranteed income from an eight-year media and marketing rights deal. IMG and Iris Sport Media are finalists in this process, with Patrice Motsepe chairing the CAF negotiations.
Morocco, which has not won the AFCON since 1976, aims to claim the title on home soil. Additionally, Morocco is set to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.
