Next edition of AFCON could be postponed to early 2026

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is considering postponing the next Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) from the summer of 2025 to early 2026 to avoid a scheduling conflict with the FIFA Club World Cup. CAF General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba confirmed that discussions are ongoing and a decision will be made soon .

BREAKING : 2025 AFCON has been postponed to January 2026! 🇲🇦🏆

Initially scheduled for the summer of 2025, due to the new version of the FIFA Club World Cup which will be held from June 15 to July 13, 2025 in the United States, AFCON will now be in January 2026. pic.twitter.com/26uzQiARdb

— Ojora Babatunde (@ojbsports) June 5, 2024

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Originally, the tournament was scheduled for the summer in Morocco to prevent the disruption of European club seasons by the January-February AFCON period. However, FIFA’s decision to hold the expanded 32-team Club World Cup in the USA from June 15 to July 13, 2025, has necessitated a potential rescheduling of AFCON .

Postponing AFCON to early 2026 is still under discussion, and no official decision has been made yet, according to a source from the African confederation . The draw for the qualifiers for the next AFCON has yet to take place, following the March playoffs that saw Chad, Liberia, South Sudan, and Eswatini qualify .

After the 2025 edition in Morocco, the 2027 AFCON is set to be hosted by Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, although this schedule could also be subject to change depending on the final decisions regarding the 2025 tournament .