Algeria, Morocco bid to host 2025 football competition

ANKARA (AA) - Regional rivals Algeria and Morocco plan to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after Guinea was stripped of the right to organize the football tournament.

Algerian Minister of Youth and Sports, Abderrazak Sebgag, said the North African country will apply to host the prestigious continental competition, which only Algeria hosted once in 1990.

"It is time for Algeria to organize major events. We are going to present a good file to organize the African Cup of Nations 2025," he said in statements carried by state news agency APS.

Meanwhile, Morocco’s state news agency MAP said, citing a source in the Moroccan Football Federation, that Rabat is set to submit a bid to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

The move came shortly after the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, said Guinea will be unable to host the 2025 edition of AFCON.

Motsepe said Guinea was unready to host the competition as it only has one international-standard stadium while the continental competition requires at least six stadiums.

He added that 10 African countries are interested in replacing Guinea and hosting the major football tournament.

Algeria and Morocco are regional rivals with their ties strained over the disputed Western Sahara region.

Last year, Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco, accusing Rabat of having "hostile tendencies," an accusation denied by Moroccan authorities.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara