The continent's best footballers are preparing to descend on Morocco for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) as the finals are held over Christmas and New Year for the first time. The tournament kicks off on Sunday, 21 December when the hosts take on Comoros at Rabat's Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium at 19:00 GMT. The pressure is on the Atlas Lions, who are Africa's highest-ranked nation at 11th in the world but have not won Afcon since 1976. Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah, who is still looking for his first title, will hope to captain Egypt to a record-extending eighth continental crown after finishing as a runner-up at the 2017 and 2021 editions. But who does he face in the group stage? What is the format of the tournament? Where are matches being played and when do they kick off? BBC Sport Africa provides you with all the information ahead of the 35th edition of Africa's biggest sporting event. The 24 teams have been split into six groups of four, with the hosts in Group A alongside Mali, 2012 winners Zambia and Comoros. Group F contains a heavyweight match-up, with holders Ivory Coast drawn alongside five-time champions Cameroon. Senegal against DR Congo in Group D also looks tasty. Elsewhere, Egypt face 1996 winners South Africa in Group B, while Group C has an East African flavour, with Uganda and Tanzania taking on Nigeria and Tunisia. The top two in each group and the four best-ranked third-placed teams will advance to the last 16, with quarter-finals, semi-finals, a match for third place and the final to follow. The opening match between Morocco and Comoros kicks off at 19:00 GMT, with three games the next day. After that, the group stage, which runs until 31 December, offers fans a Christmas feast of football, with four matches every day. Those games will be played at 12:30, 15:00, 17:30 and 20:00 (all times GMT), while the final round of group action will kick off at either 16:00 or 19:00. The knockout stage, which predominantly features games at 16:00 and 19:00, begins on Saturday, 3 January. Morocco has pumped vast sums of money into renovating stadiums to host Afcon 2025 while also preparing to co-host the 2030 Fifa World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal. Manchester United forward Bryan Mbeumo is among the stars who will miss a chunk of the Premier League season as he joins up with Cameroon With Afcon once again being played in the middle of the European season, a row has developed over when clubs will make players available to their national teams. World governing body Fifa announced that the mandatory release date would be Monday, 15 December - seven days later than the usual timing before major tournaments. "Everyone in Europe thinks African football is not important," he added. "It shows a lack of respect and I'm angry." Some clubs may attempt to come to ad-hoc arrangements with federations in order to keep players for longer. For example, Manchester United play Bournemouth in the Premier League on 15 December and may aim to hold on to their Afcon-bound contingent of forward Bryan Mbuemo (Cameroon), winger Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast) and defender Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco) for another 24 hours. Morocco are on a winning run of 18 consecutive victories - a world record in international football - stretching back to March 2024. Senegal, champions at Afcon 2021, have been playing impressive football this year under Pape Thiaw, and although the Teranga Lions lost to Brazil last month they immediately bounced back to beat Kenya 8-0. Algeria, Egypt and holders Ivory Coast also went unbeaten through World Cup qualifying and the former two nations may back themselves in North African conditions. Meanwhile, DR Congo come into the tournament on a high after seeing off Cameroon and Nigeria in Africa's 2026 World Cup play-offs. But, with seven different winners in the past eight editions, the tournament is likely to provide plenty of surprises. The ball being used for the tournament is the Itri, which incorporates traditional Moroccan zellij geometric patterns Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria, Complexe Sportif Prince Heritier Moulay El Hassan, Rabat (16:00) Emilio Nsue won the golden boot with five goals at the 2023 Afcon - despite his Equatorial Guinea side being knocked out in the last 16 SR7: Group E Winner vs Group D Second Place, Complexe Sportif Prince Heretier Moulay El Hassan, Rabat (16:00) Nigeria's William Troost-Ekong was named player of the tournament at the 2023 Afcon, but the defender has recently retired from international duty Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan. The final on Sunday, 18 January will kick off at 19:00. The Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat will host Morocco's group games and the final Nine stadiums will be used in six host cities, with four venues in the capital Rabat. Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat (capacity 69,500) Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah Olympic Stadium, Rabat (capacity 21,000) Complexe Sportif Prince Heritier Moulay El Hassan, Rabat (capacity 22,000) Grande Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech (capacity 45,240) Mali coach Tom Saintfiet described the ruling as "catastrophic" for preparations. That 20-month streak has seen the Atlas Lions score 50 goals and concede just four. Group A: Morocco vs Comoros, Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat (19:00) Group A: Mali vs Zambia, Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca (14:00) Group B: South Africa vs Angola, Grande Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech (17:00) Group B: Egypt vs Zimbabwe, Grande Stade d'Agadir, Agadir (20:00) Group D: Senegal vs Botswana, Grande Stade de Tangier, Tangier (12:30) Group D: DR Congo vs Benin, Stade El Barid, Rabat (15:00) Group C: Nigeria vs Tanzania, Complexe Sportif de Fes, Fes (17:30) Group C: Tunisia vs Uganda, Olympic Stadium, Rabat (20:00) Group E: Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea, Casablanca (12:30) Group E: Algeria vs Sudan, Complexe Sportif Prince Heritier Moulay El Hassan, Rabat (15:00) Group F: Ivory Coast vs Mozambique, Marrakech (17:30) Group A: Morocco vs Mali, Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat (20:00) Group D: Benin vs Botswana, Olympic Stadium, Rabat (12:30) Group C: Uganda vs Tanzania, Stade El Barid, Rabat (17:30) Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Sudan, Casablanca (15:00) Group E: Algeria vs Burkina Faso, Complexe Sportif Prince Heritier Moulay El Hassan, Rabat (17:30) Group F: Ivory Coast vs Cameroon, Marrakech (20:00) Senegal were the only team to win all their group games at the 2023 Afcon Group B: Zimbabwe vs South Africa, Marrakech (16:00) Group A: Zambia vs Morocco, Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat (19:00) Group C: Tanzania vs Tunisia, Olympic Stadium, Rabat (16:00) Group D: Botswana vs DR Congo, Stade El Barid, Rabat (19:00) SR1: Group D Winner vs 3rd Place Group B/E/F, Tangier (16:00) SR2: Group A Second Place vs Group C Second Place, Casablanca (19:00) SR3: Group A Winner vs 3rd Place Group C/D/E, Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat (16:00) SR4: Group B Second Place vs Group F Second Place, Stade El Barid, Rabat (19:00) SR5: Group B Winner vs 3rd Place Group A/C/D, Agadir (16:00) SR6: Group C Winner vs 3rd Place Group A/B/F, Fes (19:00) SR8: Group F Winner vs Group E Second Place, Marrakech (19:00) South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams saved four spot kicks as Bafana Bafana beat Cape Verde in a penalty shoot-out at the quarter-final stage at Afcon 2023 QF2: Winner SR4 vs Winner SR3, Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat (19:00) SF2: Winner QF3 vs Winner QF2, Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat (20:00) SF1 vs SF2 winners, Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat (19:00) (Source: BBC) AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 120 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. 15 December 2025 The Point (Banjul) Tagged: Gambia West Africa Africa Sport Soccer Tagged: Gambia West Africa Africa Sport Soccer Tagged: Gambia West Africa Africa Sport Soccer Morocco have only won Afcon once, in 1976, but fans will still be expecting the Atlas Lions to lift the trophy on home soil