62The Africa Cup of Nations 2025 kicks off on Sunday, December 21, with host nation Morocco facing Comoros in the opening fixture in Rabat. As anticipation builds, all 24 qualified teams have now confirmed their final squads for the tournament. With stars drawn from across the Premier League, EFL, and beyond, AFCON 2025 promises high-quality football, intense rivalries, and unforgettable moments as Africa’s best battle for continental glory in Morocco.
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AFCON 2025: UK-Based Stars Set for Showdown in Morocco
A notable highlight of this year’s competition is the strong representation from the United Kingdom. In total, 62 players based in England, Scotland, and Wales will feature across the tournament, underlining the growing influence of African footballers in UK leagues.
Countries Without UK-Based Players
While most teams feature at least one player plying their trade in the UK, Benin, Botswana, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Sudan are the only nations heading to Morocco without any UK-based representation.
UK-Based AFCON 2025 Players by Country
Algeria
- Rayan Aït-Nouri (Manchester City) – Premier League
Angola
- Manuel Benson (Swansea City) – EFL
Burkina Faso
- Dango Ouattara (Brentford), Bertrand Traoré (Sunderland) – Premier League
- Issa Kaboré (Wrexham) – EFL
- Landry Kaboré (Hearts), Nasser Djiga (Rangers) – Scotland
Cameroon
- Carlos Baleba (Brighton), Bryan Mbeumo (Manchester United) – Premier League
- Junior Tchamadeu (Stoke City) – EFL
DR Congo
- Arthur Masuaku (Sunderland), Axel Tuanzebe (Burnley), Noah Sadiki (Sunderland), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham) – Premier League
- Edo Kayembe (Watford) – EFL
- Ange Balikwisha (Celtic) – Scotland
Egypt
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Omar Marmoush (Manchester City) – Premier League
Ivory Coast
- Emmanuel Agbadou (Wolves), Willy Boly (Nottingham Forest), Amad Diallo (Manchester United), Evann Guessand (Aston Villa), Ibrahim Sangaré (Nottingham Forest) – Premier League
Mali
- Yves Bissouma (Tottenham Hotspur) – Premier League
- Mamadou Doumbia (Watford) – EFL
Morocco
- Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United), Chemsdine Talbi (Sunderland) – Premier League
Mozambique
- Reinildo Mandava (Sunderland) – Premier League
- Alfonso Amade (Dunfermline Athletic) – Scotland
Nigeria
- Calvin Bassey, Samuel Chukwueze, Alex Iwobi (Fulham), Frank Onyeka (Brentford) – Premier League
- Semi Ajayi (Hull City), Ryan Alebiosu (Blackburn Rovers), Bright Osayi-Samuel (Birmingham City) – EFL
Senegal
- Habib Diarra (Sunderland), El Hadji Malik Diouf (West Ham), Idrissa Gana Gueye (Everton), Iliman Ndiaye (Everton), Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham) – Premier League
South Africa
- Lyle Foster (Burnley) – Premier League
- Tylon Smith (QPR) – EFL
Tanzania
- Haji Mnoga (Salford City) – EFL
- Tarryn Allarakhia (Rochdale) – Non-League
Tunisia
- Hannibal Mejbri (Burnley) – Premier League
- Yan Valery (Sheffield Wednesday) – EFL
- Sebastian Tounekti (Celtic) – Scotland
Uganda
- Toby Sibbick (Burton Albion) – EFL
- Uche Ikpeazu (St Johnstone), Jordan Obita (Hibernian) – Scotland
Zambia
- Patson Daka (Leicester City) – Premier League
- Miguel Chaiwa (Hibernian) – Scotland
Zimbabwe
- Tawanda Chirewa (Wolves) – Premier League
- Sean Fusire (Sheffield Wednesday), Brendan Galloway (Plymouth Argyle), Marvelous Nakamba (Luton Town), Andy Rinomhota (Reading) – EFL
- Tawanda Maswanhise (Motherwell) – Scotland
- Alec Mudimu (Flint Town) – Wales
- Macauley Bonne (Maldon & Tiptree) – Non-League
AFCON 2025: Key Dates to Know
- Players released by clubs: December 15
- Group stage: December 21 – December 31
- Round of 16: January 3 – January 6
- Quarter-finals: January 9 – January 10
- Semi-finals: January 14
- Third-place match: January 17
- Final: January 18
