I'd love to tell you that the game taking place in Rabat right now is an AFCON classic, but I'd be lying.
There has been precious little to get excited about in the match between the other two teams in Group C. Uganda have been the better of the two sides, but they have not been able to find a way through Tanzania.
Victory for either team in that game would give them a great chance to make the knockouts.
Can Nigeria put their World Cup disappointment behind them? Are they the favourites for the tournament? And which player on either side do you expect to be key today?
Hosts from two years ago, Ivory Coast picked up their third AFCON crown in dramatic fashion in 2023.
After scraping through the group stage with two defeats from three and replacing their head coach Jean-Louis Gasset midway through the tournament, Ivory Coast knocked out then-holders Senegal on penalties in the round of 16 on their way to the final.
They then overcame Nigeria in the tournament showpiece, winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Franck Kessié and Sebastien Haller, to lift the trophy on home soil.
Sunset in Fes
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Credit to Abdel Majid Bziouat at APT for this cracking photo.
A wonderful evening in Fes to be playing football — let's hope the stadium will be a little fuller than some of the others we have seen at AFCON so far.
The qualification process
Some familiar names failed to qualify for this year’s AFCON — none bigger than four-time former winners Ghana.
Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Namibia also failed to qualify after appearing in the 2023 tournament.
However, Ghana and Cape Verde have both qualified for next summer’s World Cup.
Morocco and the road to the 2030 World Cup
Aside from hosting AFCON this winter, another big tournament is on the horizon for Morocco.
They have been confirmed as joint hosts for the 2030 World Cup, alongside neighbouring Mediterranean countries Spain and Portugal.
It will be the first World Cup held in north Africa and the first in Africa since 2010 in South Africa.
Before then of course, we have the 2026 tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico to look forward to.
But first, AFCON!
The host cities
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There are six host cities during AFCON in Morocco, with nine venues spread across them. The cities are:
Agadir
Fes
Rabat
Casablanca
Marrakech
Tangier
The host nation
Morocco, which sits on the coast of north-west Africa, has the pleasure of hosting AFCON for the second time in its history — the first being in 1988.
Its capital city is Rabat and the country has a population of around 37 million people.
From the dramatic Atlas mountains to the bustling streets of Marrakech, Morocco is a diverse host for this year’s tournament.
How did Morocco land AFCON?
It was not a straightforward process.
The tournament for 2025 was initially awarded to Guinea but it had its hosting rights stripped after not showing adequate preparation for hosting.
That led to a new host bidding process being opened up that Morocco won, with the 2027 tournament set to be hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Senegal and DR Congo share the points
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The second game of the day at AFCON is over and the points have been shared between Senegal and DR Congo in Group D.
Cedric Bakambu opened the scoring for DR Congo, but they were pegged back just eight minutes later when Sadio Mane finished from close range.
A point apiece means that the two teams occupy the top two places in Group D heading into the final pair of matches on Tuesday.
The AFCON match ball
As for the match ball, the ‘ITRI’ is the official ball for AFCON in 2025 and has been designed by Puma.
It has a stylish red and green pattern that takes inspiration from Morocco’s zellij art form, which resembles mosaics.
The stars interpreted in the design reflect the star on the Moroccan flag.
The big prize up for grabs
The Africa Cup of Nations itself is a stunning gold trophy that has been in use since 2001, after replacing two past trophies awarded to winners of the tournament.
The cup itself was designed and made in Italy, and is gold plated.
The winners of the tournament get a small replica to keep, as well as the honour of displaying a star on their jersey to denote the number of times they have won AFCON.
Which country has won the most AFCON titles?
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There have been some pretty successful nations in the history of AFCON. Here are all the former winners …
There have been quite a few changes to major soccer tournament formats across the globe due to expansions, so it’s always worth a reminder on the status of things at AFCON.
The tournament begins with a group stage of six groups of four (24 teams total), before the top two teams in each group and the four best-ranked third-place teams progress to the knockout phase.
After a round of 16, there is the standard run of single-leg quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final.
And when is AFCON?
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This edition of the tournament — the 35th — will run from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026.
It is the first time the tournament has been held over Christmas and New Year, with the FIFA Club World Cup last summer causing the tournament to be bumped six months down the line from a summer spot.
What is AFCON?
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The Africa Cup of Nations, abbreviated to AFCON, is the main and biggest men’s international soccer competition in Africa.
The first edition was in 1957 and it has been held every two years since, switching to odd-numbered years in 2013.
From three countries contesting the first tournament, 54 countries were eligible for the 2025 AFCON, with 24 of those qualifying.
And what about tomorrow?
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There’s plenty of good AFCON action to tuck into tomorrow too. On the agenda:
12:30pm: Gabon vs Mozambique (Group F)
3pm: Equatorial Guinea vs Sudan (Group E)
5:30pm: Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Group E)
8pm: Ivory Coast vs Cameroon (Group F)
All times GMT
The last match of the day
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It is another busy day at AFCON today.
In the early game, Yohan Roche's first-half goal was enough to help Benin see off Botswana. The second game of the day — between Senegal and DR Congo — is goalless through half an hour.
When that finishes, Uganda and Tunisia meet in the other Group C match and then it is time for Nigeria vs Tunisia...
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