The Confederation of African Football, CAF, on Friday announced the full match schedule for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Nine venues will be used across six cities for the continent’s flagship soccer event.

Hosts Morocco will will take on Comoros in the competition’s opening game at the newly-built 69,500-seater Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat on Sunday, December 21.

The country’s capital, Rabat, will have four match venues.

Other host cities are Casablanca, Agadir, Marrakech, Fes and Tangier, which will have one match each.

The four quarter-final fixtures will be played at the Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat, as well as in Tangier, Marrakech and Agadir.

The semi-finals will be in Rabat and Tangier, with the third-place play-off set for the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.

52 matches will be played during the biennial competition.

The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire are the defending champions of the competition.

The draw for this season’s UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off draw has been conducted on Friday.

Eight teams have progressed straight to the round of 16 following the completion of the league phase.

They are Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa.

They will all return to the competition in March, but others have more football to play before then.

The teams that finished between 9th and 24th, have a two-legged play-off to navigate in February.

FULL KNOCKOUT PHASE PLAY-OFF DRAW

Brest vs Paris-Saint Germain

Feyenoord vs AC Milan

Juventus vs PSV

Monaco vs Benfica

Man City vs Real Madrid

Celtic vs Bayern Munich

Sporting vs Borussia Dortmund

Club Brugge vs Atalanta

Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle believes Nigeria’s aim in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) would be motivated by a personal and communal desire for vengeance.

Nigeria has been placed in Group C, where they will face 2004 winners Tunisia, Uganda, and Tanzania in the group stage.

The Super Eagles, who have won three AFCON titles (1980, 1994, and 2013), are among the tournament’s greatest challengers.

The team is also fueled by the painful memory of their 2-1 loss to Côte d’Ivoire in the 2023 AFCON final – a defeat that still lingers in the minds of both players and fans.

Speaking during a chat with the CAF Media team, Chelle expressed optimism that the squad is determined to go a step further this time

He said: “Yes, it’s going to be difficult to win because there are 24 very good teams and some very good coaches.

“I know I’ve got a team that’s out for revenge, and I’m out for revenge too, so we’re going to have a lot of fun.

“We are out for revenge. We know what this team is capable of, and our goal is clear—to lift the trophy in Morocco.”

The Super Eagles will kick off their AFCON 2025 campaign against Tanzania’s Taifa Stars in Fez on Tuesday, December 23.