AFCON countdown: 100 days to Morocco 2025 as CAF says records set to tumble
Africa is 100 days from kick-off at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, with organisers forecasting the largest audience in the competition’s history.
In a statement marking the milestone, CAF said the finals will “showcase Africa’s football excellence to the world” as the 24-team tournament returns to Morocco for the first time since 1988.
The showpiece will run from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026, with Côte d’Ivoire defending their crown.
CAF believes the event will surpass the benchmark set in Côte d’Ivoire last year, noting: “Africa’s biggest sporting event is expected to break the records set by the hugely successful 2023 edition in Côte d’Ivoire, which attracted a global television audience of over 1.5 billion and more than 2.4 billion digital streams.”
Viewing figures of that scale would underline AFCON’s rapid growth and the sport’s reach across a youthful, digitally connected continent.
Matches will be staged in nine stadiums spread across six cities — Rabat, Casablanca, Fès, Tangier, Marrakech and Agadir — with Morocco’s new or upgraded venues expected to provide a modern backdrop and strong transport links between hubs.
CAF said Morocco “will provide world-class facilities for the 24-team tournament,” adding that the Kingdom “promises to provide a fan experience like no other away from the pitch with excellent hospitality and electric action on the field of play in state-of-the-art stadiums in a true celebration of African football.”
The milestone also continues Morocco’s recent run of major events. Over the past two seasons the Kingdom has hosted the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and the CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, both cited by CAF as evidence of “organisational excellence and the passion of fans for the game.”
Those tournaments helped test operations, train volunteers and refine fan services that will scale up for AFCON.
This winter edition will be the 35th staging of a competition first played in 1957, carrying the tournament into the new year and the European club calendar.
Fixture confirmation, base-camp allocations and fan logistics are expected to follow in the coming weeks as teams finalise preparations.
The December start date also positions Morocco as a dress rehearsal for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which the country will co-host with Spain and Portugal. CAF noted that the global showpiece returning to Africa for a second time “underlin[es] the country’s status as a hub for world football.”
Symbolically, the 100-day mark was accompanied by a celebratory poster. “To mark the 100-day Countdown to the finals, CAF has unveiled a Poster,” the statement read, encouraging fans to download and share the artwork as anticipation builds.
With the host nation among the continent’s leading sides and several heavyweights in form, AFCON 2025 is poised to blend elite football with a festival atmosphere.
As CAF put it, the finals will bring together “passionate fans from across the continent” — and, if projections are met, more global viewers than ever before.