Nigerian Superstar Davido Confirmed to Headline 2025 AFCON Official Kick-Off Concert
Ademola Busayo 
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced Nigerian music star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, as a headline performer for the kick-off concert of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Rabat, Morocco.
Davido is set to perform alongside other global artistes at the occasion, including hip-hop superstar French Montana, Moroccan singer Douaa Lahyaoui, French-Moroccan hitmaker Lartiste, and emerging star Says’z.
The pre-tournament event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 20 December, in Rabat’s Olm Souissi Fan Zone, from 6:00 p.m. to midnight local time, ahead of the tournament’s opening game between the host nation, Morocco, and Comoros, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
The event is part of the activities commemorating the football tournament, AFCON 2025, themed: ‘TotalEnergies AFCON 2025’, and scheduled to kick off on 21 December 2025 and stretch to the final match on 18 January 2026 in Morocco.
Announcing the lineup on Thursday in an X post, the CAF noted that the performances of the top singers will bring rhythm to the tournament long before the kickoff.
“It’s all about the rhythm. And it starts long before kickoff. The Official #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 Kick-Off Concert is set with French Montana, Davido, Douaa Lahyaoui, Says’z, and Lartiste,” the statement read.
According to CAF, AFCON 2025 will bring together Africa’s best national teams, with a blend of football, entertainment, and cultural showcase.
To promote cultural representation among all participating teams, CAF has also endorsed, on its social pages, the wearing of traditional cultural attire by players from countries competing at the tournament.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Super Eagles will be competing at AFCON 2025 as a three-time champion, having won the tournament in 1980, 1994, and 2013. The Super Eagles finished as runners-up at AFCON 2023, the last edition of the tournament.
This places the Super Eagles among the tournament’s most experienced and closely watched teams as they enter the 2025 competition in Morocco.
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Emmanuel Femi Adedayo 
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