CAF announces Egypt as host of U-20 AFCON as Cote d’Ivoire pulls out

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced Egypt as the host of the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). 

CAF revealed the new host in a statement on Thursday evening.

Cote d’Ivoire was billed to host the age-grade competition from April 26 to May 18, but the country pulled out precisely a month before the event.

The Ivorians gave no further explanation for the late withdrawal.

According to CAF, the West African country pulled out of hosting the competition due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

Egypt hosted the previous edition of the competition. The country will take up the responsibility again, and the 2025 U-20 AFCON has been rescheduled to start on April 27.

The Flying Eagles are drawn in Group B of the competition against the new hosts, Morocco and South Africa.

The top two teams from each group will automatically qualify for the knockout. The best two third-placed teams will also get quarter-final slots. The semi-finalists will qualify automatically for the 2025 U-20 World Cup in Chile.

Nigeria finished third in the previous U-20 AFCON after losing to The Gambia in the semi-final.