Nigeria, Morocco, others target $10m prize as AFCON kicks off today

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) begins today in Morocco with a significant financial incentive, as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has raised the prize money for the tournament winners to a record $10 million.

CAF President Patrice Motsepe announced the revised prize structure on Saturday in Rabat after a meeting of the CAF Executive Committee, on the eve of the opening match between hosts Morocco and Comoros.

AFCON Morocco 2025 will run from Sunday, December 21, 2025, to Sunday, January 18, 2026, and is the first edition of the competition to be played during the Christmas and New Year period.

According to CAF, the $10 million prize represents a 43 per cent increase from the $7 million earned by champions Côte d’Ivoire at the 2023 tournament. The prize fund has doubled over four years, having risen from $5 million at AFCON 2021 in Cameroon to $7 million in 2023, before the latest increase.

Under the new structure, the runners-up at AFCON 2025 will receive $4 million, while the two semi-finalists will earn $2.5 million each. CAF said the improved prize money was aimed at enhancing the competitiveness, commercial value and global appeal of Africa’s premier football tournament.

The 35th edition of AFCON officially kicks off on Sunday night with Morocco facing Comoros at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah in Rabat. CAF has also confirmed the officiating team for the opening fixture, underscoring readiness for the month-long competition.

Twenty-four teams are competing across six groups.

Group A consists of Morocco, Mali, Zambia and Comoros. Group B features Angola, Egypt, South Africa and Zimbabwe. In Group C, Nigeria’s Super Eagles are drawn alongside Tunisia, Tanzania and Uganda, in what is expected to be a demanding group for the three-time African champions.

Group D includes Senegal, DR Congo, Benin and Botswana, while Group E is made up of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan. Group F has been widely labelled the “group of death”, featuring defending champions Côte d’Ivoire, five-time winners Cameroon, Gabon and Mozambique.

AFCON has been staged 34 times, with 14 nations lifting the trophy. Egypt are the most successful team in the tournament’s history with seven titles, followed by Cameroon with five and Ghana with four. Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire have each won the competition three times. Nigeria’s triumphs came in 1980, 1994 and 2013.

All 54 matches of AFCON 2025 will be broadcast live and free-to-air on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, with additional coverage on SuperSport and beIN Sports across Africa and other regions.

The group stage will run until December 31, after which the knockout phase begins with the round of 16 from January 3 to January 6, 2026. The quarter-finals will be played on January 9 and 10, the semi-finals on January 14, and the final on Sunday, January 18, 2026.

With an expanded prize purse, heavyweight group clashes and continental giants such as Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal and hosts Morocco in contention, AFCON 2025 is set to deliver one of the most competitive editions in the tournament’s history.