By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has announced that the 2025 Afcon, to be hosted by Morocco, will begin on 21 December and the final will be on 18 January.
The scheduling will see the 24-team finals overlap with the Premier League’s festive programme and take place between match rounds in the Uefa Champions League.
It will be the first time in Nations Cup history that the tournament will kick off in December and run over the Christmas and New Year period.
The 2024 Wafcon, also set to be held in Morocco, will take place between 5 and 26 July next year.
It remains to be seen whether Europe’s top clubs will agree to release players for the 2025 Nations Cup, with both the club and international calendars increasingly congested.
CAF held a virtual executive committee at their headquarters in Cairo on Friday evening after which Caf president Patrice Motsepe made the announcement.
Motsepe said announcing the dates for the 2025 Afcon took “much longer than expected” because of “complex and at times challenging discussions” with interested parties.
“Caf is committed to protecting and advancing the interests of African players playing in clubs in Europe and worldwide,” he added.
“We will continue to make significant progress in developing and ensuring that African football is globally competitive and amongst the best in the world.”
Originally scheduled for June and July 2025, the Afcon was moved to avoid a clash with the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States from June 15 to July 13 next year.
The qualifying draw for the 2025 AFCON is scheduled for Johannesburg on July 4 with 48 hopefuls to be divided into 12 groups.