The 2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations will kick off tomorrow in Morocco through 18 January 2026, bringing together 24 men’s national teams from across the continent to compete for African football’s biggest prize. The tournament will be played across six Moroccan cities that include Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir, Marrakech, Fez and Tangier. The champions will be crowned in Rabat on January 18th.
It is the 35th edition of the competition and the first to be held during the Christmas and New Year period. Hosts Morocco are among the leading contenders, buoyed by their historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. They face strong competition from record seven-time champions Egypt, defending champions Côte d’Ivoire, as well as Senegal, Nigeria, and Algeria. Many of Africa’s biggest stars are set to shine for their various countries. Expected to be on show, include Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Díaz for Morocco, Mohamed Salah for Egypt, Victor Osimhen for Nigeria, Sadio Mané for Senegal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Gabon, Lyle Foster for South Africa, and Bryan Mbeumo for Cameroon, all of whom are set to play key roles for their national sides.
Three times champions, Nigeria will begin their quest for a fourth title in Group C, which also parades Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania. The team will play their first group match against Tanzania on Tuesday, December 23 in Fez. Nigeria head coach, Eric Chelle’s squad generated a lot of buzz as nine of the players are making their first AFCON appearance.The newcomers are Ryan Alebiosu, Tochukwu Nnadi, Salim Fago Lawal, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, Fisayo DeleBashiru, Akor Adams, Cyriel Dessers, Amas Obasogie and Muhammad Usman. Some are entirely new to the national setup, others have only brushed the fringes, but none has previously experienced the intensity of a Nations Cup.
Chelle’s selection has lowered expectations among Nigerians as his squad is perceived as largely inexperienced and experimental. Coupled with the problem of having many new players, coach Chelle’s problem was compounded by FIFA’s directive that delayed the delay of release of players by European clubs. The deadline for clubs to release players was pushed back to December 15, allowing some players to feature in an extra week of fixtures before heading to the tournament.
Teams were previously required to release players to their national sides by Monday, December 8 though . This was bad news for numerous AFCON bound national teams. But Chelle, is, perhaps, the most affected because of inadequate preparations. For a tournament like the AFCON, which ranks high in global football, it is only well grilled and blended teams survive. Most Nigerians don’t believe in this team. But former Nigeria international and 2013 AFCON winner, Ogenyi Onazi who has seen it all believes the Nigerian representatives will surprise every skeptics by giving the country a good representation in Morocco.
The former Nigeria midfielder believes the current group has the raw ingredients to surprise critics in Morocco, just as Stephen Keshi’s side did in South Africa 12 years ago. Onazi said the noise around Eric Chelle’s selections should not distract the players. In his view, doubt is not a weakness but a familiar starting point. He recalls a time when expectations were low, belief was questioned, and the squad was written off efore a ball was kicked. That, he argued, is often when Nigerian teams are at their most dangerous. “There was not much belief in us in 2013,” Onazi said.
“We had many new players, and people didn’t think we could go far. But we understood the task and decided to give everything. We won it. I see a similar situation now, and I expect the same hunger from this set of players.” The former Lazio man insists the shirt should be the only focus once the tournament begins. “When you wear that jersey, it doesn’t matter when you started playing for Nigeria. What matters is commitment,” he added.
“Go hard, give everything, and remember you are carrying the hopes of millions.” As noted earlier, Eric Chelle’s AFCON 2025 squad contains nine players who have never featured at the Africa Cup of Nations, a detail that has fuelled doubts but also underpins Onazi’s optimism. The 32-year-old insists that unfamiliarity with the tournament is not a disadvantage in itself. He points back to AFCON 2013, when Stephen Keshi travelled to South Africa with a group that raised similar eyebrows.
That squad also leaned heavily on players without AFCON pedigree. Sunday Mba, Ogenyi Onazi, Reuben Gabriel, Ejike Uzoenyi, Brown Ideye and Elderson Echiejile all went into that tournament without continental experience. By the time it ended, several had written their names into Nigerian football history. However, the present squad does not entirely lack experience as the likes of Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon, former African Footballer of the Year, Ademola Lookman, Wilfred Ndidi, Simi Ajayi, Francis Uzoho, Stanley Nwabali among others have been with the team seven before the last AFCON, which they returned with a runners up medal. The Super Eagles have a chance of rewriting the narrative after their disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign.
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