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FIFA and CAF have reportedly settled on dates for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations set to be held in Morocco, ending a standoff that threatened to delay the tournament.
World football governing body FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF) have reportedly agreed to have the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations held in mid-July to mid-August next year.
There had been a standoff over when next year’s tournament will be held as hosts Morocco insisted they want it played in the summer but with the expanded 32-team FIFA Club World Cup scheduled from June 15 to July 13, 2025, in the United States, a summer date proved difficult.
However, reports in Morocco on Monday suggested there has now been an agreement between the two parties to have the tournament take place just after the Club World Cup from July 22 to August 21, 2025.
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07:46 - 11.02.2024
FOOTBALL Why CAF does not know when AFCON 2025 will be held
Confederation of Africa Football is in dilemma on when the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco will be held given a number of competing competitions on the proposed dates.
It had been a nightmare situation for CAF since four African clubs, Al Ahly of Egypt, Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, plus two more from this season’s CAF Champions League, will compete at the Club World Cup, meaning several players will not be available for their national teams at this time.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe had weighed in on the issue just before the AFCON 2023 final in Cote d’Ivoire, admitting while he was hopeful of a summer date next year, the situation was difficult.
“I was with the president of FIFA yesterday and various others and there is a lot of competing events at the same time but we are confident that we can identify if it [AFCON 2025] indeed going be around that time,” Motsepe told journalists in Abidjan.
“I do not want to make announcements because there is a degree of comfort in terms of what the dates look like but we have to accommodate various others competing competitions but the message for the people of Morocco, North Africa and Africa is that the AFCON next year is going to be an immense success.”
CAF has been flipping between the summer and the January dates for the AFCON in the last three editions with the 2019 event held between June and July in Egypt before the 2021 tournament was switched from the same dates to January and February, same as the 2023 edition.
All eyes will now be on Motsepe on Tuesday when the draw for the AFCON 2025 qualifiers will be conducted in Cairo, Egypt to see if he will confirm the said dates.
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