
AFCON 2025 final draw held in colorful ceremony in Rabat, Morocco to face Comoros, Zambia, and Mali
The Final Draw for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025 was held on Monday evening in Rabat at a colorful ceremony attended by President of the Confederation of African Football Patrice Motsepe, the heads of the football federations of the 24 countries to participate in the AFCON 2025, and several personalities from the world of sports and culture.
During the ceremony that was followed on TV by football lovers in more than 90 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North and South America, Morocco has been placed in group A and will face Comoros, Zambia, and Mali, according to the draw.
Opening the ceremony, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Fouzi Lekjaa, delivered a speech of unity and passion between Morocco and Africa, expressing Morocco’s pride in hosting such a major event.
“We are proud to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and we embrace this challenge with great seriousness. The organization of this competition is personally overseen by HM King Mohammed VI, who attaches great importance to sports activities and the African dimension they represent. It is a sustainable continuation of Morocco’s cooperation with the African continent. We have written many chapters of collaboration together,” he said.
Morocco has mobilized all the logistical conditions to ensure the success of AFCON 2025 and has provided the necessary means for the success of this edition, whether in terms of infrastructure, stadiums, training grounds or other logistical aspects linked to this competition, said Lekjaa.
Fans will find the optimal conditions to meet their needs during this competition, which will be an opportunity to sow joy and consolidate the bridges of friendship between African peoples, he added, noting that the success of 2025 AFCON will be the first step towards to the success of the 2030 World Cup.
Thanking the African leaders for entrusting Morocco with the organization of this major African soccer event, Lekjaa noted that this is a challenge that the Kingdom had taken up with seriousness and commitment.
Morocco has always been linked to African countries on commercial, civilizational, intellectual, scientific and artistic levels, he stressed, noting that the organization of the AFCON 2025 provides an opportunity to reiterate the Kingdom’s commitment to its African brothers, to forge ahead towards a common future in sport and development.
He also pointed out that the organization of this competition is part of the natural continuity of a longstanding history, and that Morocco has succeeded, in collaboration with its African brothers, in shaping a shared heritage and intertwined identities, and in writing pages of support and collaboration, particularly during the struggle for freedom and independence.
Patrice Motsepe on his part pointed out that the 2025 AFCON in Morocco will be “the best in the history” of the competition.
“The 2025 AFCON in Morocco will be the most successful and exciting in the history of the tournament,” he said, reiterating his thanks to King Mohammed VI for the great attention he continuously gives to football in Africa, as well as to the Moroccan government and people.
Emphasizing that football plays a crucial role in uniting people, Motsepe stressed that football touches feelings and emotions, and that African football continues to gain recognition day by day.
He recalled, in this regard, the remarkable journey of the Atlas Lions at the 2022 World Cup, when they reached the semi-finals, an achievement that will remain etched in the memory of all Africans.
Coach of the Atlas Lions, Walid Regragui, said Morocco will host the best AFCON in history.
“We are fortunate to have the opportunity to organize it here, with the best fans in the world. We will need the players, but I have no doubts about the organization—we will have the best Africa Cup of Nations in history,” he said with enthusiasm.
The Final Draw for AFCON Morocco 2025 gave the 24 qualified teams their path to the trophy.
The teams were drawn into six groups each containing four sides ahead of the 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026 finals tournament that will be spread across six host cities and nine stadia in Morocco as Africa’s best chase to the continent’s most coveted trophy.
Hosts Morocco headline Group A and will take on Mali, Zambia and Comoros in what looks a hotly contested pool.
Record seven-time winners Egypt face a trio of Southern African teams in Group B in the form of last year’s bronze medalists South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe.
In Group C, Nigeria will lock horns with Tunisia and the East African duo of Uganda and Tanzania, who will be AFCON co-hosts in 2027.
The 2021 champions Senegal go up against Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin and Botswana in Group D.
Algeria, winners in 2019, take on Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan in an interesting Group E.
And defending champions Côte d’Ivoire face old rivals and five-time winners Cameroon, Gabon and Mozambique in Group F as they look to claim back-to-back titles.
The top two teams in each pool will advance to the round of 16, along with the four best Third-placed sides.
Earlier on Monday, CAF announced the six cities (Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Agadir, Fez, Tangier) and nine stadiums selected for this flagship tournament of African soccer, which will be held from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026.