The 30th edition of the competition will now be played from January 17 to February 8 2015, after organisers approved the one-day extension which will see the semi-finals played on separate days for the first-time in the tournament's history.

Previously, both semi-finals took place on the same day but at Morocco 2015 the first will take place on February 4 followed by the second match on February 5.

Another break from tradition will see just one match taking place on the opening day, which will be the first game in Group A.

That match and the rest of the Group A fixtures will be played in Marrakech while Group B games will be located in Agadir.

As well as hosting the final, Rabat will be home to Group C with Group D based in Tangier.

Meanwhile, the seven qualifying groups for Morocco 2015 have been decided following the official draw in Cairo.

Defending champions Nigeria will face Sudan and South Africa in Group A; Mali, Ethiopa and Algeria make up Group B; while Group C consists of 2013 runners-up Burkina Faso, Gabon and Angola.

Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon make up a strong looking Group D; Ghana, Guinea and Togo have been drawn in Group E; Zambia, Niger and the Cape Verde Islands are in Group F; while Group G also looks set to be a tight affair with Tunisia, Senegal and Egypt drawn together.

A fourth team in each group will be decided following the completion of two qualifying rounds.

The first qualifying round will see teams play over two-legs on May 16 to 18 and May 30 to June 1 this year followed by a two legged second round which takes place on July 18 to 20 and August 1 to 3.

The seven winners will then be placed into the seven qualifying groups.

Former Egyptian head coach Hasan Shehata helped conduct the draw for the Morocco 2015 qualifying groups at CAF headquarters in Cairo today ©AFP/Getty Images



The fixtures for the first qualifying round are:

• Liberia v Lesotho

• Kenya v Comoros Islands

• Madagascar v Uganda

• Mauritania v Equatorial Guinea

• Namibia v Congo

• Libya v Rwanda

• Burundi v Botswana

• Central African Republic v Guinea Bissau

• Swaziland v Sierra Leone

• Gambia v Seychelles

• Sao Tome e Principe v Benin

• Malawi v Chad

• Tanzania v Zimbabwe

• Mozambique v South Sudan

Current African Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast could be one of the stars of Morocco 2015 ©AFP/Getty Images



The second qualifying round fixtures are:

• Namibia or Congo v Libya or Rwanda (Group A)

• Sao Tome e Principe or Benin v Malawi or Chad (Group B)

• Liberia or Lesotho v Kenya or Comoros Islands (Group C)

• Swaziland or Sierra Leone v Gambia or Seychelles (Group D)

• Madagascar or Uganda v Mauritania or Equatorial Guinea (Group E)

• Tanzania or Zimbabwe v Mozambique or South Sudan (Group F)

• Burundi or Botswana v Central African Republic or Guinea Bissau (Group G)

The group matches will then be played on September 5 or 6 and 10; October 10 or 11 and 15; and November 14 or 15 and 19.

The top two countries in each group, plus the best third-placed finisher qualify for the finals along with hosts Morocco, who will be staging the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time following on from 1988.

The draw for the finals will be held in Rabat on November 26.

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