The Africa U20 Cup of Nations threatened with cancellation or postponement

The Africa U20 Cup of Nations might be canceled or postponed following the decision of the Ivorian Football Federation to withdraw from hosting. Initially scheduled from April 26 to May 18, 2025, the tournament is now without a host nation.

In an official statement, the Ivorian Football Federation announced that its president, Yacine Idriss Diallo, received an official correspondence from the Ivorian government indicating the withdrawal of Côte d'Ivoire as the organizer of the competition.

The statement specifies:

"President Yacine Idriss Diallo, president of the Ivorian Football Federation and the organizing committee of the Africa U20 Cup of Nations, informs that, through official correspondence, the Ivorian government has notified the Federation of its withdrawal as the host country of the competition.

On the instruction of the Federation's president, the executive director conveyed this information to the secretary-general of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

The president expresses his deep gratitude to all stakeholders involved in organizing this tournament and assures that any decision by CAF regarding this matter will be communicated in due course.

CAF in search of a replacement host country

According to beIN Sports, the Confederation of African Football has already initiated efforts to find a substitute host nation. Egypt and Morocco are among the most serious options to ensure the competition continues on the initially planned dates and to avoid a postponement.

As a reminder, the CAN U20 is a key competition in African football, as the four semifinalists automatically qualify for the U20 World Cup, scheduled in Chile from September 27 to October 19, 2025. The latter will bring together 24 teams from different confederations.

Mohamed Rek |

Editorfr, ar, en

Mohamed Rek- sports content writer with over 10 years of experience creating football content in Arabic and French for platforms such as Foot Africa and Starafrica, combining accuracy, creativity, and audience engagement.