The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Thursday that Johannesburg, South Africa, will host the draw for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on July 4th.
This highly anticipated event will determine the groups for 48 participating nations vying for a spot in the prestigious continental tournament.
Defending champions Ivory Coast and host nation Morocco are among the teams to be drawn.
The 48 participants will be divided into 12 groups of four, with the top two teams from each group (except Morocco’s group) advancing to the 24-team finals.
Morocco’s automatic qualification as hosts offers an additional spot for another team from their group.
Double matchdays for qualifiers are scheduled for September, October, and November of this year.
The nations ranked 1-44 in the FIFA World Rankings received a bye to this stage, while Chad, Eswatini, Liberia, and South Sudan emerged victorious from the preliminary round playoffs.
A potential date clash with the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States has cast a shadow on the originally planned June-July 2025 timeframe for the Africa Cup of Nations finals.
CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba has confirmed ongoing discussions with stakeholders regarding a new date, with a formal announcement expected soon.
Sources within CAF suggest that shifting the tournament to early 2026 is a possibility, though no official decision has been made.
The Africa Cup of Nations holds a unique position within continental football competitions.
Unlike other tournaments held every four years, this event occurs biennially, generating significant revenue for CAF through TV rights and advertising. This switch to a mid-year schedule in 2019 aimed to avoid conflicts with the European season.
However, concerns about extreme weather conditions in subsequent editions have led to a return to January-February tournaments.
This schedule continues to disrupt the rhythm of top African stars like Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who missed extended periods during the 2024 tournament due to injury.
