A CAN in the middle of winter in Morocco, a poisoned gift from FIFA?

Morocco should organize the 35th edition of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) between December 21, 2025 and January 18, 2026. While we are still more than a year away from the holding of this high mass African sports, the atmosphere is already one of concern in the ranks of sports observers and coaches due to these dates imposed by FIFA.

FIFA’s scheduling of the Club World Cup, a new version with a number of participants increased to 32, and which will be played from June 15 to July 13 in the United States, forced the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide, at its Executive Committee meeting held on June 21, that the final phase of the CAN Morocco 2025 would take place between December 21, 2025 and January 18, 2026. “We had understood that the CAN would not take place in June-July 2025. We were rather expecting January and February 2026. This is a bit surprising, because it is the first time that it will be played on such dates. We would have liked it to be played in June-July, because at this time of year, the weather is nice, there is a more festive side and many tourists, but FIFA has imposed its calendar, and we have to deal with it,” Moroccan journalist Nassim El Kerf told Young Africa.