FIFA Urges Morocco to Set Date for 2025 Africa Cup of Nations

When will the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) be held? On Sunday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino had a conversation with his CAF counterparts, Patrice Motsepe and the President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Fouzi Lekjaa, on this subject, in Abidjan, on the sidelines of the small handover ceremony that took place at the end of the final won by the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire against Nigeria (2-1) at the Ebimpé stadium, reveals the Kooora website. On this occasion, the head of Moroccan football received from the hands of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara and Infantino proposed to him to organize the tournament either in March 2025, or to postpone it to January 2026.

Fouzi Lekjaâ did not give a definitive answer to the FIFA President. He insisted on Morocco hosting the African tournament in the summer. If the CAN and the FIFA Club World Cup were played in the summer of 2025, he should hold a meeting with the European Union to convince them to postpone the start of the European leagues until September 2025, suggests Gianni Infantino, stressing that the decision must be made quickly, in order to precisely define the match schedule, as the United States is to host the World Cup in the summer of 2026.