By McGeorge Mbare
The confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed Egypt as the new host of the Africa Cup of Nations Under 20,following Ivory Coast ‘s withdrawal as the host due to what have been described as unforeseen circumstances.
Twelve teams are set to battle it out in a tournament set to kick off on April 27 running through until May 18, 2025.
According to CAF, the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) and the government of Côte d’Ivoire informed the Federation that they can no longer host the tournament. Therefore the African federation awarded Egypt the hosting rights, as Egypt had previously submitted a bid to host the tournament before Côte d’Ivoire’s withdrawal.
“The confederation of African Football has awarded the Egyptian Football Association and the Government of Egypt the rights to host CAF Under Africa Cup of Nations 2025. This is subsequent to CAF having informed by the Federation of Ivory Coast Football and the government of Ivory Coast that due to unforeseen circumstances, they are unable 5o host the U20 AFCON. The Egyptian Football Association and Egyptian government had previously submitted a bit to host…” CAF stated.
Among the 12 participating teams two teams that is Kenya and Sierra Leone will be making their AFCON U20 debut. The Rising Stars have been placed in Group C alongside defending champions Senegal, 2017 winners and Zambia, one of the two COSAFA representatives at the tournament.