Morocco will host Africa for the second time, having hosted in 1988. Qualifying ended in November, but several questions remain about the continent's biggest sporting event.
When will the 2025 AFCON take place?The schedule for the biennial competition has changed again, with the busy schedules of clubs and international teams creating a "planning nightmare" for organisers, the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The last two editions took place in January and February and the commitment made in 2017 to organize the CAN in the middle of the year was again neglected.
The 2025 AFCON will begin on December 21 and will run until January 18, 2026.
This will be the first time the tournament will take place over the Christmas and New Year period, which could still prove problematic.
The fixture list has not yet been announced, so it is possible that matches will be played on Christmas Day. The first round of the group stages of the 2023 tournament took place over five days.
When will the players be released?The date on which clubs will release players has yet to be determined, with the 2025 AFCON taking place outside FIFA's agreed selection windows for internationals.
The European Club Association, which represents more than 700 professional teams on the continent, will likely be involved in the negotiations, given that many African stars play in Europe's top leagues.
Some players may reach unique agreements between their club and country.
But Andre Onana's decision to play for Manchester United in the Premier League just 24 hours before Cameroon's first match at AFCON 2023 backfired when the goalkeeper was benched by the Indomitable Lions despite arriving by private jet in time for kick-off.
The warm-up matches have been organised eight days before the 2023 finals, but it remains to be seen whether the teams participating next year will have full squads by then.
What is the format and when will the draw take place?The format in Morocco remains the same as in the last three tournaments, with 24 teams divided into six groups of four.
The top two in each group advance to the round of 16 along with the four best third-placed teams. The competition is knockout from this point onwards.
Ahead of the draw - which will take place on January 27 in Rabat - countries will be placed in one of four pots based on their position in the FIFA world rankings.
Things could get complicated if defending champions Ivory Coast fail to rank among the top six African teams.
It is possible that the Elephants will be placed in Pot 1 anyway, relegating a higher-ranked nation to Pot 2.
In the latest ranking, Ivory Coast was the sixth best team on the continent, but was only three places ahead of Cameroon.
Where will the CAN 2025 matches be held?Matches at the 2023 tournament in Ivory Coast were played in six different stadiums across five cities, all with a minimum capacity of 20,000.
The same requirements are in place for the 2025 AFCON. Although the Royal Moroccan Football Federation has not made an official announcement, it has no shortage of options, given that the country arguably has the best football infrastructure on the continent.
A 115,000-capacity stadium is under construction in the eastern suburbs of Casablanca for the co-hosting of the 2030 World Cup, but it will not be ready before the start of the AFCON.
Casablanca's Mohammed V stadium hosted the 1988 final, but Tangier's Ibn Batouta stadium now has the largest capacity in the country.
The Prince Moulay Stadium in Rabat hosted the 2022 Africa Women's Cup of Nations. Agadir, Fez and Marrakech are also favourites to host the matches.
Who are the favorites?One of the wonders of the CAN is its unpredictability.
The last eight editions have seen seven different champions triumph, with Ivory Coast the only nation to have lifted the trophy twice since 2010.
Morocco are Africa's highest-ranked team since their historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and the pressure is mounting to end what will be a 49-year wait for their second continental title.
The Atlas Lions put in a dominant performance in qualifying, scoring 26 goals and conceding just two to finish with the only 100% record.
But hosting the tournament is not necessarily an advantage. Only Tunisia, Egypt and the Ivorians have triumphed on home soil this century.
Nigeria will be looking to improve on their runners-up finish earlier this year, while Senegal and Egypt will be among the favourites.
Were there any surprise qualifiers?There will be no Nations Cup debutants, but Comoros and Botswana will be making only their second appearance.
Sudan achieved a remarkable feat by qualifying in the middle of a civil war, knocking out four-time champions Ghana in the process.
Uganda, which will co-host the 2027 tournament, and Benin are involved for the first time since 2019.
Seventeen teams from the 2023 edition are back and there are seven qualifiers from the Southern African region, a record.
Who will be the best players?It is difficult to predict, but barring injury or a dip in form over the next 12 months, Ademola Lookman, recently crowned African Footballer of the Year, will be the spearhead of the Nigerian team, given his excellent performances with Atalanta.
Mohamed Salah has been impressive for Liverpool this season and the Egypt captain will be determined to win his first AFCON and end a 15-year wait for the Pharaohs' trophy.
Real Madrid striker Brahim Diaz was the top scorer in qualifying with seven goals for Morocco.
Some of Ivory Coast's best players at the start of the year were surprises, however, with Guinea's Emilio Nsue winning the Golden Boot, Nigerian defender William Troost-Ekong being named best player and South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams eclipsing his European-based rivals to win the Golden Glove.
Teams qualified for CAN 2025Morocco (host), Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Comoros, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
