By Nurudeen Obalola
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has named Egypt as the hosts of the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations following the late withdrawal of Cote d’Ivoire.
The Ivorians, who successfully hosted the senior AFCON last year, notified CAF on Wednesday that they would no longer be able to organise the U-20 version this year, barely a month to its kick-off.
According to a CAF statement on Friday night, the dates are unchanged, with the competition set to begin in late April.
“The Confederation of African Football today awarded the Egyptian Football Association (“EFA”) and Egyptian Government the rights to host the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2025,” the continental body announced.
“This is subsequent to CAF having been informed by the Fédération Ivoirienne de Football (“FIF”) and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire that due to unforeseen circumstances, they are unable to host the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2025.
“The Egyptian Football Association and the Egyptian Government had previously submitted a bid to host the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2025.
“The opening match of the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2025 will be played on Sunday, 27 April 2025 and the Final on 18 May 2025.”
Thirteen teams, including the Flying Eagles of Nigeria, are scheduled to feature in the tournament, with the top four qualifying for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Tanzania and Central African Republic (CAR) are in Group A of the U-20 AFCON.
The Flying Eagles are in Group B with new hosts Egypt, South Africa and Morocco, while Group C is made up of champions Senegal, Zambia, Kenya and Sierra Leone.
