Osimhen African MVP 

©TM/IMAGO

The 24 participating countries in the 2025 African Cup of Nations have been finalised after qualification ended during the November international break. The tournament will be hosted across six cities in Morocco from next December with the final being held on January 18, 2026. Ivory Coast will attempt to defend their title after beating Nigeria on home soil earlier this year with Sébastien Haller the hero for the Elephants after they famously sacked their coach during the tournament.

The best players in Africa will descend on Morocco next year including Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen and Morocco’s Ashraf Hakimi. The aforementioned trio are currently the three most valuable African players in the world but which nations have the most valuable collection of players in their current squads? Using Trasnsfermarkt’s world-renowned market values, we’ve ranked the 24 nations at AFCON 2025 based on their squad’s valuations.

The most valuable nations to qualify for AFCON 2025

Of the 24 nations to qualify for AFCON, Morocco have the most valuable squad at €361 million. PSG star Hakimi is the second most valuable African player in the world at €60m and they have six other players valued at over €20m, including Brahim Díaz and Noussair Mazraoui. One Moroccan player to keep an eye on is Monaco wonderkid Eliesse Ben Seghir as his market value could soar before the tournament. As the graphic below illustrates, Nigeria ranks second with Osimhen the most valuable African player at €75m.

 Reigning champions Ivory Coast rank third with Sporting CP’s Ousmane Diomande (€40m) and Brighton’s Simon Adingra (€30m) their two most valuable players. Ghana are the most valuable African nation to miss out as they rank fifth with a total squad value of €212m. Salah will be aiming to lead Egypt to glory in Morocco with the Liverpool icon supported by one of the breakthrough stars of the 2024/25 season in Frankfurt sensation Omar Marmoush.