Morocco has been awarded the prestigious opportunity to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals. This decision comes as a replacement for Guinea, which was stripped of its hosting rights last year. Additionally, the 2027 hosting rights have been granted to a co-bid comprising Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Morocco emerged victorious by default, as Algeria, Zambia, and a joint bid from Benin and Nigeria all withdrew their bids before the vote took place during the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee meeting in Cairo.

Morocco’s selection as the host nation for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is a significant development and is seen as a positive sign for their aspirations to co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Portugal and Spain. Notably, the joint East African bid’s victory for the 2027 event was an unexpected twist.

This decision marks the return of the finals to the East African region for the first time since 1976, as they prevailed over competitors like Botswana, Egypt, and Senegal in the vote. Algeria, another candidate, withdrew from the bidding process just a day before the decision was made.

It is worth mentioning that Kenya had previously been awarded the hosting rights in 1996 but was later stripped of this privilege due to inadequate preparations. The country has recently had a lengthy FIFA ban lifted, stemming from government interference in the management of its football federation.

“The tournament has to be spread around the regions and contribute to the development of football,” emphasized CAF President Patrice Motsepe.

The 2025 finals will be only the second time that Morocco will host Africa’s most popular sporting event, with the previous instance dating back to 1988.

Morocco’s decision to withdraw from hosting the 2015 Cup of Nations finals due to concerns about the Ebola virus in West Africa had previously garnered criticism from CAF. Consequently, the country faced a two-year ban from African competitions. However, Morocco has since been actively fostering diplomatic ties across the continent through football. They have hosted numerous CAF events at women’s and youth levels and have generously offered their stadiums to several African countries facing bans on hosting international games due to poor pitch or stadium conditions.

In their bid for the 2025 event, Morocco has proposed the use of six stadiums, strategically located in Agadir, Casablanca, Fes, Marrakech, Rabat, and Tanger.

The hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations has witnessed a series of twists and turns over the past decade. It began with South Africa stepping in to replace war-torn Libya as the host in 2013. Subsequently, Guinea was awarded the hosting rights for the 2023 finals in 2014, followed by Cameroon in 2019 and Ivory Coast in 2021.

However, Cameroon’s readiness for the 2019 finals was questioned, leading to Egypt stepping in as the host. Cameroon eventually hosted the 2021 edition, which was delayed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ivory Coast was originally set to host the 2023 event in June but had to postpone it by six months due to concerns about the rainy season in West Africa.

The upcoming Cup of Nations finals are scheduled to be held from January 13 to February 11, promising an exciting showcase of African football talent.