Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe has stated that the football body will respect the upcoming ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding the host nation for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The statement comes after a period of uncertainty following CAF's decision to strip Guinea of hosting rights in 2022 and the subsequent awarding of the tournament to Morocco.
Motsepe's comments were made public on March 17, 2026, during a press conference. He emphasized that CAF would accept the sports court's final verdict on the matter, which is pending. The case was brought before CAS after Algeria's football federation (FAF) appealed CAF's decision to award the hosting rights to Morocco.
The initial schedule for the 2025 tournament, set for June and July, was thrown into doubt. CAF has since postponed the tournament to late 2025 and early 2026 to avoid a clash with FIFA's new Club World Cup. The official host nation remains subject to the outcome of the legal proceedings at CAS.
Morocco, which was named as the replacement host in September 2024, has previously hosted the AFCON in 1988. The North African nation also co-hosted the 2030 FIFA World Cup bid with Spain and Portugal. A final decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport is awaited to resolve the hosting dispute.
