The group stages of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, which will be held in Morocco in 2025, will officially begin this afternoon.
This will be the starting point towards the 35th edition of this continental event with these qualifications.
Building on the exceptional success of the 2023 CAF CAN in Côte d’Ivoire earlier this year, Morocco is ready to welcome Africa and the rest of the world for a new promising African football tournament.
This week, 12 groups of 4 teams will compete, with 48 African nations battling to secure the top two spots in their respective groups, giving them a chance to take part in the tournament in Morocco next year.
As hosts, Morocco find themselves in an interesting group with Gabon, Central African Republic and Lesotho all looking to maximise their points tally, with Morocco already having secured qualification.
Reigning African champions Côte d’Ivoire will face 2012 champions Zambia in the first Group G match of the qualifiers. The Chipolopolo, whose last performance on Ivorian soil was disappointing, will be hoping to start the qualifiers on a high note but will face a very in-form Ivorian side. Sierra Leone and Chad will also be hoping to spring an upset against the two title-winning teams. Meanwhile, runners-up Nigeria are in Group D alongside Benin, Libya and Rwanda, while Senegal will be looking to prevail in a tough Group L that includes Burkina Faso, Malawi and Burundi. Finally, Egypt, the most successful country in the history of the CAN, will face Cape Verde, a nation on the rise, in the first match of Group C. The fight for the first two places in this group promises to be fierce, with Mauritania and Botswana always eager to achieve a feat.
In this qualifying campaign, each team will play home and away matches, and it is guaranteed that the top two teams from each group will progress to the final phase, except in the following permutations:
The first two teams in groups not including Morocco (Group B) will automatically qualify for the final phase. For teams ranked first and second in a group including Morocco, which benefits from automatic qualification as hosts, the following three situations apply:
- if the host is first, it will qualify with the second in the group;
- if the host is second, he will qualify with the first;
- If the host finishes third or fourth, they will qualify with the group leader.
It is possible to follow in real time all the actions of the qualifications for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025 on all of CAF’s digital platforms.
