Morocco has been officially designated as the host nation for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament, a replacement for Guinea, which was stripped of hosting privileges last year.
This decision was made by default, as Morocco emerged as the sole contender after Algeria, Zambia, and a joint bid from Benin and Nigeria withdrew their bids before the final vote of the Confederation of African Football’s Executive Committee in Cairo on Wednesday.
Morocco, widely regarded as the frontrunner, interprets this victory as a significant endorsement for its aspirations to co-host the 2030 World Cup in collaboration with Portugal and Spain.
The 2025 finals will mark only the second occasion that Morocco hosts Africa’s most renowned sporting event, following their successful hosting of the tournament in 1988, almost four decades ago.
It will be recalled that Morocco was originally slated to host the 2015 Cup of Nations finals, but the country withdrew due to concerns over the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa. This decision incurred strong condemnation from Caf at the time, resulting in a two-year ban on Morocco’s participation in African competitions.
However, Morocco has since undertaken a diplomatic campaign to strengthen ties with African nations through football. The country has been a gracious host for a variety of Caf events at women’s and youth levels. Additionally, Morocco has offered its stadiums to numerous African countries facing bans on hosting international games due to subpar pitch or stadium conditions.
Unlike their previous hosting stint with an eight-team tournament played in only two venues, Casablanca and Rabat, Morocco’s plans for 2025 are more extensive. They have proposed the use of six stadiums, located in Agadir, Casablanca, Fes, Marrakech, Rabat, and Tanger.
The history of Afcon hosting has been tumultuous in the past decade, including South Africa stepping in to replace war-torn Libya in 2013. Guinea was initially awarded the right to host the 2023 finals, alongside Cameroon (2019) and Ivory Coast (2021). However, Cameroon’s readiness for the 2019 finals was questioned, leading to Egypt stepping in as a substitute host. Cameroon later hosted the 2021 edition, which was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cote d’Ivoire was slated to host the 2023 event in June but was postponed by six months due to concerns over the rainy season in West Africa.
The upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is scheduled to take place from January 13 to February 11, 2024.
