How many teams are playing in the AFCON 2025?

24 teams will be playing in the AFCON 2025 tournament.

Will Cape Verde participate in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations?

No, Cape Verde will not participate in the 2025 AFCON.

Who are considered the best AFCON teams historically?

Teams like Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast are considered to be some of the best AFCON teams.

Which African teams have never qualified for AFCON?

Ten African nations have never qualified for the AFCON, including the Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Lesotho, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia, and South Sudan.

AFCON Teams: Learn more about AFCON 2025 Qualified Nations

The Africa Cup of Nations 2025 promises to be a huge tournament with several AFCON teams being a part of it. There are 24 AFCON teams that have secured their place in the highly coveted tournament, which is set to take place in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026. Top AFCON 2025 teams include Morocco, Nigeria, Egypt, and some of the best AFCON teams at the moment. Join us as we take a deep look at the AFCON 2025 qualified teams and also take a look at which teams have been among the best AFCON teams of all time in the competition's history.

Africa Cup of Nations Teams: How many Teams Participate in AFCON?

The AFCON tournament consists of a total of 24 teams, and this format has been in place since 2019. Previously, there were 16 AFCON teams playing in the tournament. Some of the best AFCON teams are qualified for the main tournament and are further seen in several group stages before getting to the knockout stage of the tournament. The Africa Cup of Nations teams are decided by the qualifiers conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and are further contested in the tournament.

AFCON 2025 Teams: Qualification Path Explained

The AFCON 2025 teams were selected after a qualification process that consisted of a preliminary round, a group stage, and then the final qualification stage. The preliminary round is contested between the eight lowest-ranked AFCON teams, and four winners from this round are added to the group stage. The group stage consists of 48 AFCON teams and is drawn into 12 groups of four. Each group plays a traditional home-and-away round-robin format, and the top two teams from each of the group are qualified for the final 24-team AFCON tournament. The AFCON 2025 qualified teams went through this qualification process to get to the tournament.

AFCON 2025 Teams: List of Qualified Nations

Take a look at the AFCON 2025 qualified teams list, which qualified for the tournament after the qualification stage ended in November 2024. The AFCON 2025 qualified teams list includes some of the best AFCON teams of all time and several shocking underdogs who might be the darkhorses going into the tournament. Take a look at the list of the AFCON 2025 teams along with their position in the qualification group in which they were.

Nation	Group Position (in AFCON Qualifiers)
Algeria	Group A winner
Angola	Group D runner-up
Benin	Group D winner
Botswana	Group B runner-up
Burkina Faso	Group L winner
Cameroon	Group K runner-up
Comoros	Group J winner
DR Congo	Group I winner
Egypt	Group F winner
Equatorial Guinea	Group F runner-up
Gabon	Group L runner-up
Morocco	Group B winner
Ivory Coast	Group G runner-up
Mali	Group H winner
Mozambique	Group C runner-up
Nigeria	Group C winner
Senegal	Group K winner
South Africa	Group A runner-up
Sudan	Group J runner-up
Tanzania	Group E runner-up
Tunisia	Group I runner-up
Uganda	Group E winner
Zambia	Group H runner-up
Zimbabwe	Group G winner

Who are the Best AFCON Teams of all Time?

While it might be debatable to name who is the best AFCON team of all time, there have been discussions among fans and critics regarding some of the best AFCON teams of all time. Egypt remains one of the best AFCON teams of all time, having won the title a record seven times.

Other top teams based on winning the title include Cameroon with five titles, Ghana with four titles, Nigeria with three titles, and the Ivory Coast with three titles. With top teams like Morocco, Cameroon, Egypt, and other AFCON teams aiming to win the title, it remains to be seen which team will clinch the title from the list of AFCON 2025 teams.