Morocco will host the 35th edition of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations in 2025, the Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced.
The decision was taken during an Executive Committee meeting in Cairo on Wednesday, September 27, 2023.
Morocco replaced Guinea, who were stripped of the tournament hosting rights in October last year due to concerns about lack of infrastructure and other facilities.
Zambia and a joint Nigeria-Benin bid were also in the running for 2025. However, they agreed to withdraw in order to allow Morocco to prove its worth in the hope it will increase the chances of Africa hosting the 2030 World Cup.
Morocco is jointly bidding for the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.
The President of CAF, Patrice Motsepe said all of the options for both tournaments would have made Africa “proud”.
He added that the decisions had been based on the level of infrastructure made available by bids, including facilities, accommodation and hospitals.
“The decision that was taken today was to focus on African unity, development and growth, in the context of those countries withdrawing,” Motsepe said of Morocco’s success, which also came after Algeria withdrew on the eve of the voting.
“A huge amount of money is being spent on Morocco for 2025. The bid from Morocco to host the World Cup is not just for Morocco, but for the whole of Africa,” Mr Motsepe said.
This is the second time Morocco will be hosting Africa’s flagship event after 35 years after the North African country staged the competition in 1988.