Morocco and Algeria are emerging as the top contenders to host the Africa Cup of Nations tournaments in 2025 and 2027. The official announcement is scheduled to take place in Cairo on Wednesday.
These two nations are vying for the opportunity to host the 2025 edition of this prestigious African sporting event, facing competition from Zambia and a joint bid by Nigeria and Benin. Additionally, Algeria has expressed interest in hosting the 2027 tournament, with competition from Botswana, Egypt, Senegal, and a combined bid from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
After multiple missed deadlines for the host announcement, a senior official from the African Football Confederation (CAF) has confirmed that the hosts for the 2025 and 2027 tournaments will be unveiled on September 27.
The executive committee members will make their selection after evaluating independent assessments of the candidates for both years. However, political factors and a commitment to regional rotation have added complexity to the decision-making process.
Algeria and Morocco, neighboring North African countries, have a complex political relationship that spilled into the realm of football this year. A ban on Moroccan aircraft flying over Algeria resulted in Morocco withdrawing its team from the 2022/2023 African Nations Championship (CHAN) for home-based players. This decision deprived the tournament of one of the favorites, as Morocco had won the previous two editions.
Both Algeria and Morocco possess excellent stadiums, infrastructure, and passionate football fans, making them capable of hosting world-class Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. However, the desire to host the 2025 tournament has created competition between them, with leading Moroccan and CAF official Fouzi Lekjaa stirring controversy earlier this year by stating that Morocco would be chosen as the host.
Domestic media quoted him saying “The Fes stadium will have the honor of hosting CAN (Cup of Nations) 2025 matches when Morocco wins the organization”.
– Political rivalry –
CAF president and South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe is acutely aware of the political rivalry between the neighbors.
“We must not get involved in what is happening between Algeria and Morocco. CAF should never intervene in politics,” he said during the CHAN tournament.
Motsepe has hailed the organizational abilities of both countries, who have each staged the Cup of Nations once with Morocco doing so in 1988 and Algeria two years later.
“Morocco has often flawlessly hosted major competitions while the CHAN in Algeria this year was the best,” he said.
During the CHAN, Motsepe said he wanted each region to host the Cup of Nations: “We cannot assign the organization of the CAN successively to the same region.”
However, several months later, CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba said regional rotation may not always be possible.
“Today, only five or six countries out of the 54 CAF members can apply to host the African Cup. Consequently, it will not be possible to make this alternation,” he said.
What began in 1957 as a three-team tournament is now a 24-nation event featuring stars such as Mohamed Salah, Victor Osimhen, Andre Onana, Sadio Mane and Hakim Ziyech.
Hosts must have a minimum of six stadiums — two with a capacity of at least 40,000 and four able to accommodate 20,000 or more spectators.
The Ivory Coast will stage the 2023/2024 Cup of Nations, which has been postponed from June and July this year to January and February next year to avoid the rainy season.
