The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially declared Morocco as the host country of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
It comes after a 35-year hiatus, marking just its second time hosting the biggest continental fiesta since it inception in 1957.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced the news on Wednesday following the vote of the Executive Committee board meeting in Cairo, Egypt.
Morocco beat competition from Zambia and a joint bid from Nigeria and Benin after Algeria announced its withdrawal on the eve of the CAF committee meeting on Tuesday.
The committee unanimously voted for Morocco’s bid to organise AFCON 2025.
The committee also announced Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda as the hosts of the 2027 AFCON.
In recent years, Morocco has showcased its full readiness to host Africa’s biggest football event.
Officials from both CAF and FIFA have hailed the quality of Morocco’s football infrastructure and accommodation facilities, stressing that the North African country has what it takes to host prestigious sporting events, including AFCON.
Morocco showed its readiness by hosting several world-class CAF events, including the African Women’s Cup of Nations in July 2022 and the Club World Cup earlier this year.
Hailing Morocco’s potential to be a respectable host of international tournaments, the FIFA President said last year that Morocco is a great country not only for football but also as a country that knows how to organise major events.
In addition to the continental event, Morocco is also bidding to jointly host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Portugal and Spain.
Morocco’s only AFCON victory came in 1972 in Cameroon, 16 years before hosting the 1988 tournament, which was eventually won by the Indomitable Lions.
