Africa Cup of Nations 2025: Full match schedule, teams, groups and format

Africa Cup of Nations 2025: Full match schedule, teams, groups and formatKey scheduling, groups, venues and start times before AFCON, Africa’s premier football tournament, starts in Morocco.Ivory Coast will defend their 2023 title at this year's Africa Cup of Nations [File: Fareed Kotb/Anadolu via Getty Images]Published On 15 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 68 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, MozambiqueRecommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Photos: Angry fans vandalise India stadium after Messi’s early departurelist 2 of 4PSG vs Flamengo: All to know about FIFA Intercontinental Cup final in Qatarlist 3 of 4NBA: LeBron James rallies Lakers to comeback victory over Sunslist 4 of 4Mbappe returns at Alaves to ease Real pressure on Madrid coach Alonsoend of listFormatThe 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.Egypt are the most successful team in Africa with a record seven AFCON titles, though they last won the trophy in 2010 [File: Amr Nabil/AP]⚽ Group StageDecember 21Group A: Morocco vs Comoros (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8pm/19:00 GMT)December 22Group A: Mali vs Zambia (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)Group B: Egypt vs Zimbabwe (Adrar Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)Group B: South Africa vs Angola (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)December 23Group C: Nigeria vs Tanzania (Fez Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)Group C: Tunisia vs Uganda (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)Group D: Senegal vs Botswana (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)Group D: DR Congo vs Benin (Al Barid Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)December 24Group E: Algeria vs Sudan (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)Group E: Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)Group F: Ivory Coast vs Mozambique (Marrakesh Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)Group F: Cameroon vs Gabon(Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)Rest day on ChristmasDecember 26Group A: Morocco vs Mali (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)Group A: Zambia vs Comoros (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)Group B: Egypt vs South Africa (Adrar Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)Group B: Angola vs Zimbabwe (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)December 27Group C: Nigeria vs Tunisia (Fez Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)Group C: Uganda vs Tanzania (Al Barid Stadium, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)Group D: Senegal vs DR Congo (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)Group D: Benin vs Botswana (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)December 28Group E: Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Sudan (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)Group F: Ivory Coast vs Cameroon (Marrakesh Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)Group F: Gabon vs Mozambique (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)December 29Group A: Comoros vs Mali (Stade Mohammed V, 6:30pm/17:30 GMT)Group A: Zambia vs Morocco (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 6:30pm/17:30 GMT)Group B: Angola vs Egypt (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)Group B: Zimbabwe vs South Africa (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)December 30Group C: Tanzania vs Tunisia (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)Group C: Uganda vs Nigeria (Fez Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)Group D: Benin vs Senegal (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)Group D: Botswana vs DR Congo (Al Barid Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)December 31Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)Group E: Sudan vs Burkina Faso (Stade Mohammed V, 6pm/17:00 GMT)Group F: Gabon vs Ivory Coast (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)Group F: Mozambique vs Cameroon (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)Rest days on January 1 and 2 External view of the 69,500-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, which will be used for the AFCON final on January 18 [Emre Asikci/Anadolu via Getty Images]⚽ Round of 16January 3Runner-up Group A vs Runner-up Group C (Stade Mohammed V, 8:30pm local/19:30 GMT)Winner Group A vs 3rd Group C/D/E (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)Runner-up Group B vs Runner-up Group F (Al Barid Stadium, 8:30pm local/19:30 GMT)