Julius OkorieThe Confederation of African Football (CAF) heaved a sigh of relief Thursday night, after Egypt offered to host 2025 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Originally, Côte d’Ivoire was slated to host the age-grade competition, scheduled to take place from April 26 to May 18, 2025. But the Continental soccer ruling body and participating teams of the championship were suddenly thrown into limbo when Ivory Coast announced a sudden pull out from the hosting duties.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn its statement of relief, CAF expressed appreciation to the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) and the Egyptian Government for their willingness to step in at short notice.
The football body stated, “The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) today awarded the rights to host the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2025 to the Egyptian Football Association and the Egyptian Government. This decision follows notifications from the Fédération Ivoirienne de Football (FIF) and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire that, due to unforeseen circumstances, they are unable to host the tournament.”
Egypt previously hosted the 2023 edition of the under-20 AFCON with great success and will once again take on the responsibility of organising this significant tournament.
The 2025 Under-20 AFCON has thus been rescheduled with the opening match billed for Sunday, 27 April 2025 and the Final on 18 May 2025.
Nigeria has been drawn in Group B Where she will face new hosts Egypt, Morocco and South Africa. Two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stages, while the two best third-placed teams will also secure spots in the quarter-finals.
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The semi-finalists will earn automatic qualification for the 2025 Under-20 World Cup, taking place in Chile, between September 27 and October 19.
Nigeria remains the most successful country in the U-20 AFCON with seven titles in the kitty. Senegal are the current holders. Other successful countries in the championship are Ghana and Egypt with four titles each.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
