Morocco replaced Guinea, who were stripped of the tournament in October last year because of concerns about infrastructure and facilities.
Morocco will host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced, with Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania jointly hosting the following 2027 AFCON tournament for the first time.
The move was announced after a collective united effort saw a number of countries withdraw to allow Morocco to win the bid.
Zambia and Nigeria-Benin, who were also in the running for 2025, pulled out of the race, and Algeria withdrew on the eve of the vote.
“The decision that was taken today was to focus on African unity, development, and growth in the context of those countries withdrawing,” said Patrice Motsepe, president of CAF.
“A huge amount of money is being spent on Morocco for 2025” he said, adding “it is not just for Morocco, but for the whole of Africa”” added Motsepe.
Morocco has proposed these six cities to host each of the groups at the 24-team AFCON 2025 – Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, Rabat, and Tangier.
On the other side of the fence, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania will stage a continental football tournament for the first time in all three East African nations’ history.
Motsepe praised the hosting, voicing, “The three nations came together because our standards and requirements are very high.”
“Sometimes it requires hundreds of millions – sometimes billions – in infrastructure. It makes me proud when football brings countries together. Afcon 2027 is going to be a huge success,” Motsepe added.
With seven appearances in AFCON, Uganda is the East African nation featured the most in the continental tournament.
Egypt holds the record for the highest number of successful AFCON hosting bids, with five.
The North African nation hosted the tournament in 1959, 1974, 1986, 2006, and 2019. Ghana follows Egypt with four successful hosting bids in 1963, 1978, 2000, and 2008. Tunisia is third, with three bids in 1965, 1994, and 2004. Sudan hosted the inaugural AFCON contest in 1957 and again in 1970.
