African Legends El Hadary, Mboma Among Stars to Attend AFCON 2025 Draw in Rabat

Doha – Only three days before the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Final Draw, CAF announced today that several African football legends will participate in the ceremony at Mohammed V National Theatre in Rabat on Monday.

The star-studded event, scheduled for 7 p.m. local time (6 p.m. GMT), will feature distinguished names including Egypt’s Essam El Hadary, Cameroon’s Patrick Mboma, Tunisia’s Aymen Mathlouthi, and Ivory Coast’s Gervinho.

El Hadary, who holds the record as the oldest player in FIFA World Cup history at 45 years and 161 days, brings significant experience to the ceremony.

His impressive career includes four AFCON titles with Egypt (1998, 2006, 2008, and 2010) and 159 international caps spanning 22 years.

“The rich history of the AFCON has been built on great performances and feats of brilliance in the past, and the Legends who will be in Rabat have certainly played their part,” CAF stated in today’s announcement.

The draw will determine the group allocations for the 24 qualified teams, including host nation Morocco.

The tournament, marking Morocco’s second time hosting the continental championship, will run from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.

Among other legends attending, Patrick Mboma, the 2000 African Footballer of the Year, won two AFCON titles with Cameroon and scored 11 goals across four tournaments.

Former Ivory Coast forward Gervinho, an AFCON winner in 2015, competed in five tournaments between 2008 and 2015.

The competition will utilize several venues across Morocco, including stadiums in Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, Agadir, Marrakech, and Fez.

“Morocco has consistently demonstrated its capacity to organize and deliver world-class football tournaments,” CAF noted, citing the country’s recent hosting of the 2018 African Nations Championship, 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, and 2023 FIFA Club World Cup.

Mali’s Momo Sissoko, Zambia’s Christopher Katongo, and Tunisia’s Aymen Mathlouthi will also attend the draw.

Katongo notably captained Zambia to their first continental title in 2012, while Mathlouthi represented Tunisia in six AFCON tournaments between 2008 and 2017.