The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially appointed Egypt as the new host nation for the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations. This announcement was made in a statement released on Thursday evening.
Initially, Côte d’Ivoire was scheduled to organize the prestigious youth tournament, set to take place from April 26 to May 18. However, just a month before kick-off, the West African country withdrew from hosting responsibilities due to what CAF described as “unforeseen circumstances.”
CAF’s statement read: “The Confédération Africaine de Football (‘CAF’) has awarded the hosting rights for the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2025 to the Egyptian Football Association (‘EFA’) and the Egyptian Government.
“This decision follows notification from the Fédération Ivoirienne de Football (‘FIF’) and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, informing CAF that they are unable to proceed as hosts for the tournament due to unexpected challenges.”
Egypt, having previously staged the last edition of the U-20 AFCON, will once again take on the hosting duties. The competition is now set to begin on April 27, 2025.
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles have been placed in Group B alongside the host nation, Egypt, as well as Morocco and South Africa. The top two teams from each group will advance automatically to the knockout phase, while the two best third-placed teams will also secure quarter-final spots. Additionally, the four semi-finalists will earn direct qualification to the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
