Afcon draw LIVE: Africa Cup of Nations groups revealed ahead of 2025 tournament
The draw for the Africa Cup of Nations is complete, with defending champions Ivory Coast facing rivals Cameroon in Group F
The draw for the 2025/26 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations has taken place, with hosts Morocco facing Mali, Zambia and Comoros in Group A.
Seven-time champions Egypt, who will likely be led by Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, will play South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe in Group B.
In Group C, Nigeria will start their campaign to win a first Afcon title since 2013 by taking on Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania.
Senegal won a memorable first title in 2021 and the the Teranga Lions will play DR Congo, Benin and Botswana, with the Zebras making their just their second Africa Cup of Nations appearance.
In Group E, Algeria will play Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan, while Group F will stage a mouth-watering clash between rivals Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon, as well as Gabon and Mozambique.
Cote d’Ivoire are the defending champions and the the tournament will begin on 21 December with Morocco opening against Comoros.
The final will be held at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on 18 January 2026. Follow the latest updates from the draw in Rabat here:
Afcon draw
Hosts Morocco will be drawn first from pot 1 and will be placed as the first team in Group A. The teams from pot 4 will then randomly drawn one by one and sequentially placed from Group A to Group F.
Once all the teams from pot 4 have been drawn, the teams in pot 3 will be similarly placed sequentially from Group A to Group F, then pot 2 likewise before the remaining five teams in pot 1 (with Morocco already heading Group A) will be drawn sequentially from Group B to Group F.
Afcon draw
A reminder of pots ahead of the Afcon draw:
Pot 1: Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire
Pot 2: Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, South Africa, DR Congo, Burkina Faso
Pot 3: Gabon, Angola, Zambia, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Benin
Pot 4: Mozambique, Comoros, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Botswana
Afcon draw
The “moment of truth” has arrived! The draw is about to begin, following a run through of the draw procedure.
Afcon draw
To help out with the procedure, we have four very special guests: Morocco’s 1998 African Football of the Year Mustapha Hadji, a champion with Ivory Coast in 2023 and former Tottenham defender Serge Aurier, Senegal’s Afcon-winning coach in 2021 Aliou Cissé, and finally former Everton defender and African champion with Nigeria in 2013 Joseph Yobo.
Afcon draw
We know the teams, now we have pots and balls on the stage! The draw can’t be far away now.
Afcon draw
Another speech, this time from CAF president Patrice Motsepe.
“We see the power of football to bring Africa together, to unite people in one country, to show people across the world that African football is growing.
“We saw that in Qatar, when Morocco reached the semi-finals. It was a moment of pride for us. Now, our biggest tournament is taking place in Morocco. It is a great honour.”
Afcon draw
Time for the Afcon trophy to be brought onto the stage!
Ahmed Makrouh “Baba”, a part of Morocco’s last Africa Cup of Nations winning team, almost 50 years ago in 1976, brings the trophy out onto the stage.
Afcon draw
Time for a spoken-word recap of the last Afcon tournament, which produced so many twists and turns.
Who could forget Ivory Coast being on the verge of crashing out in the group stage, sacking their coach, and coming back win it all by defeating Nigeria in the final?
Afcon draw
A fourth musical performance to keep the head coaches entertained while we wait for the draw to begin in Rabat.
Afcon draw
Morocco head coach Walid Regragui is also asked for his thoughts.
“We have the best fans in the world. Pressure? Of course there is pressure when we have not won the tournament since 1976. Morocco wants to stage the best Africa Cup of Nations we have seen.”
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