By Manasi Pathak

Published On 15 Dec 202515 Dec 2025

• The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly known as AFCON, will be held in Morocco this year and kicks off in the capital, Rabat, on Sunday.
• Host nation Morocco take on Comoros in the opening match of the four week tournament.
• The final will be held on January 18 at the 69,500-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
• Nine venues across six cities have been selected for the continental showpiece event.
• The 24 participating teams have been drawn into six groups, with 52 matches in total.
• The group stage will run until December 31, with the knockout stage starting on January 3.

Here are the details on the teams, groups, format, match fixtures, kickoff times and venues 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, DR 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 of each group, along with the best four third-placed teams, will advance to the knockout stage, beginning with the round of 16. That is followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final. There is also a third-place playoff between the two losing semifinalists.

In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, teams will play 30 minutes of extra time and, if required, a penalty shootout.

Match schedule

⚽ Group Stage

December 21

Group A: Morocco vs Comoros (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 7pm/18:00 GMT)

December 22

Group A: Mali vs Zambia (Stade Mohammed V, 3pm/14:00 GMT)

Group B: South Africa vs Angola (Marrakesh Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)

Group B: Egypt vs Zimbabwe (Adrar Stadium, 9pm/20:00 GMT)

December 23

Group D: DR Congo vs Benin (Al Barid Stadium, 1:30pm/12:30 GMT)

Group D: Senegal vs Botswana (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 4pm/15:00 GMT)

Group C: Nigeria vs Tanzania (Fez Stadium, 6:30pm/17:30 GMT)

Group C: Tunisia vs Uganda (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 9pm/20:00 GMT)

December 24

Group E: Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea (Stade Mohammed V, 1:30pm/12:30 GMT)

Group E: Algeria vs Sudan (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 4pm/15:00 GMT)

Group F: Ivory Coast vs Mozambique (Marrakesh Stadium, 6:30pm/17:30 GMT)

Group F: Cameroon vs Gabon(Adrar Stadium, 9pm/20:00 GMT)

Rest day on Christmas

December 26

Group B: Angola vs Zimbabwe (Marrakesh Stadium, 1:30pm/12:30 GMT)

Group B: Egypt vs South Africa (Adrar Stadium, 4pm/15:00 GMT)

Group A: Zambia vs Comoros (Stade Mohammed V, 6:30pm/17:30 GMT)

Group A: Morocco vs Mali (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 9pm/20:00 GMT)

December 27

Group D: Benin vs Botswana (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 1:30pm/12:30 GMT)

Group D: Senegal vs DR Congo (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 4pm/15:00 GMT)

Group C: Uganda vs Tanzania (Al Barid Stadium, 6:30pm/17:30 GMT)

Group C: Nigeria vs Tunisia (Fez Stadium, 9pm/20:00 GMT)

December 28

Group F: Gabon vs Mozambique (Adrar Stadium, 1:30pm/12:30 GMT)

Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Sudan (Stade Mohammed V, 4pm/15:00 GMT)

Group E: Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 6:30pm/17:30 GMT)

Group F: Ivory Coast vs Cameroon (Marrakesh Stadium, 9pm/20:00 GMT)

December 29

Group B: Angola vs Egypt (Adrar Stadium, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

Group B: Zimbabwe vs South Africa (Marrakesh Stadium, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

Group A: Comoros vs Mali (Stade Mohammed V, 8pm/19:00 GMT)

Group A: Zambia vs Morocco (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8pm/19:00 GMT)

December 30

Group C: Tanzania vs Tunisia (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

Group C: Uganda vs Nigeria (Fez Stadium, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

Group D: Benin vs Senegal (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 8pm/19:00 GMT)

Group D: Botswana vs DR Congo (Al Barid Stadium, 8pm/19:00 GMT)

December 31

Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

Group E: Sudan vs Burkina Faso (Stade Mohammed V, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

Group F: Gabon vs Ivory Coast (Marrakesh Stadium, 8pm/19:00 GMT)

Group F: Mozambique vs Cameroon (Adrar Stadium, 8pm/19:00 GMT)

Rest days on January 1 and 2 

⚽ Round of 16

January 3

Winner Group D vs 3rd Group B/E/F (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

Runner-up Group A vs Runner-up Group C (Stade Mohammed V, 8pm local/19:00 GMT)

January 4

Winner Group A vs 3rd Group C/D/E (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

Runner-up Group B vs Runner-up Group F (Al Barid Stadium, 8pm local/19:00 GMT)

January 5

Winner Group B vs 3rd Group A/C/D (Adrar Stadium, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

Winner Group C vs 3rd Group A/B/F (Fez Stadium, 8pm local/19:00 GMT)

January 6

Winner Group E vs Runner-up Group D (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

Winner Group F vs Runner-up Group E (Marrakesh Stadium, 8pm local/19:00 GMT)

Rest days on January 7 and 8

⚽ Quarterfinals

January 9

Quarterfinal 1 (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

Quarterfinal 2 (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8pm local/19:00 GMT)

January 10

Quarterfinal 3 (Marrakesh Stadium, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

Quarterfinal 4 (Adrar Stadium, 8pm local/19:00 GMT)

Rest days on January 11, 12 and 13 

⚽ Semifinals

January 14

Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4 (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)

Winner QF3 vs Winner QF2 (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 9pm/20:00 GMT)

Rest days on January 15 and 16

⚽ Third-place playoff

January 17

Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2 (Stade Mohammed V, 5pm/16:00 GMT)

⚽ Final

January 18

Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8pm local/19:00 GMT)