AFCON: How Often Does The Tournament Take Place & When Does It Start?

The African Cup Of Nations is a huge tournament taking over the whole of Africa, as almost every nation on the continent plays for bragging rights.

How often does this tournament take place and when is this year's edition? The short answer is that it is usually held every two years and this year's instalment kicks off on December 21st, 2025, running through until the final on January 18th, 2026. Some things have affected the time of the tournaments taking place and here you will find out why...

Date Changes

The AFCON is a tournament that takes place every 24 months, generally in accordance with the World Cup years to make sure that the two tournaments don't overlap in the same summer. The tournaments usually take place over the winter or summer period, depending on the summer temperature, to make sure that the matches aren't being played in extreme heat.

FIFA competitions (and the expanded Club World Cup) have forced CAF to shift dates in certain editions to limit clashes with club calendars. Hosting rights, infrastructure and political issues have occasionally led to reassignments or date changes.

🏆🌍 All teams qualified to AFCON 2025!

Who’s gonna win the Cup? ✨ pic.twitter.com/AQpp2MT1IE

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 20, 2024

When does the next AFCON start?

The 35th edition of AFCON in Morocco is scheduled from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026. This will be one of the rare editions staged across the Christmas/New Year period - CAF and global bodies moved it into late December/January largely because of the unusual 2025 calendar (including an expanded FIFA Club World Cup and club competition scheduling), which made a regular mid-year window impractical.

The big takeaway for fans on a club level is that many of their sides' best players will be away at the tournament for up to the whole duration, i.e., the best part of a month.

As a high-profile example, Liverpool will be without legend Mo Salah, and Man United will be without new star signing Bryan Mbuemo. The players' leaving will have big impacts on their clubs, as they try to bring international glory to their home country! It will be very interesting to see how the affected clubs will cope during this time.

Sunderland could be missing a few key players during AFCON 2026 🔁🔴 pic.twitter.com/FPFVmbdtxG

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 4, 2025

For African national teams, a winter or mid-season AFCON can be helpful. Players arrive in strong physical rhythm from club duty. But for top European clubs, it often means losing key talent at a critical point in the campaign. That’s why CAF’s decisions over upcoming editions are being watched closely: scheduling has become just as important as the football itself.

As global calendars get busier, AFCON’s dates will remain a talking point. Not just for managers and federations, but for fans following their favourite players across multiple competitions.