AFCON
AMAZING FACTS: 16 TAKE AWAYS AHEAD OF NIGERIA-TUNISIA FRIENDLY MATCH
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Duels of Nigeria and Tunisia are often fiercely contested. So fierce that Sports Village Square reports that two of the encounters have resulted in walkouts. Some had to be decided by tie-breakers while others left national ego badly bruised.
The two teams engage in a friendly match on Tuesday, the first time both will clash outside African shores. Sports Village Square presents the following amazing facts:
- It is Tunisia that Nigerian football legend, Austin Okocha scored the milestone 1,000th goal of the Africa Cup of Nations history. The goal came from the penalty spot in a 4-0 defeat of South Africa in Monastir.
- Both Nigeria and Tunisia suffered the same fate at the last Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals. Both conceded late goals and were condemned to battle for the third place as they did 41 years earlier at Ghana 1978.
- Nigeria and Tunisia scored own goals in their respective semi-final matches at the 2019 Afcon. Tunisia’s loss was occasioned by the after regulation time own goal conceded by Dyran Bronn in the match with Senegal. In the same direction of goal post, where William Troost-Ekong scored Nigeria’s late winner against South Africa in the quarter finals, he turned the ball into his goal net in the semi-final match against Algeria.
- Own-goal is not strange to both Nigeria and Tunisia. The most recalled encounter of Nigeria and Tunisia has an own goal as an indelible memory when Godwin Odiye infamously headed the ball into his goal net in Nigeria’s last qualifying match for the Argentina ’78 World Cup. Even Nigerian football fans not born at the time grew up to know about the November 12, 1977 own goal that denied Nigeria World Cup qualification on home soil.
- Both teams have staged walkout in previous encounters. Nigerian players walked out in their Africa Cup qualifiers against Tunisia on 10 December 1961 in Tunis, CAF awarded the match to Tunisia. Tunisia staged a walkout in the third place match of Afcon 1978 when Baba Otu Mohammed scored a goal that leveled scores at 1-1. CAF Awarded the match to Nigeria.
- Nigeria’s 100th goal in the Africa Cup of Nation’s history was scored by Obinna Nsofor in the quarter finals against Tunisia at Port Said, Egypt in on 4 February 2006. Final score line after extra time was 1-1. Nigeria prevailed 6-5 in Penalty shootout.
- Till date, Nigeria’s national team has been involved in 11 penalty shootout situations. But the first time Nigeria got involved in a penalty shootout was a World Cup qualifying match with Tunisia on 12 July 1980. With Aggregate score line at 2-2, penalty shootout was employed. Nigeria won 4-3.
- When Kadiri Ikhana missed his kick in Nigeria’s penalty shootout with Tunisia on 12 July 1980, he became the first national team players to do so.
- Of the eleven penalty shootout situations involving the Super Eagles of Nigeria, three of them had been in duels with Tunisia in 1980, 2004 and 2006. It was only in the11 February 2004 situation in Rades, Tunisia that won 6-3 after 1-1 scoreline.
- Nigerian football legend, Nwankwo Kanu played in six consecutive Africa Cup of Nations editions from 2000 to 2010. He only found the net once in a penalty shootout with Tunisia in 2006 quarterfinal match.
- Nigeria’s World Cup qualifying match against Tunisia on 12 November 1977 was the last international engagements for the duo of Nigeria rear guards, Patrick Ekeji and Samuel Ojebode.
- Until the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Nigeria missed all editions of World Cup in which Tunisia fell in the country’s fixtures. First Tunisia eliminated Nigeria from Argentina’ 78 qualifiers. Even after eliminating Tunisia, Nigeria still missed qualifying for Spain ’82. Tunisia eliminated Nigeria from Mexico ’86 qualifiers.
- Tunisia was the first team to eliminate Nigeria from Africa Cup of Nations qualification when Nigeria staged a walkout in the return leg of the 1962 qualifiers alleging bad officiating. Score line at the time stood at 2-2, but Nigeria led 4-3 on aggregate. Match was awarded to Tunisia.
- Apart from the 7-0 defeat on Nigeria by Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1955, the next heaviest defeat on Nigeria was by Tunisia; a 5-0 defeat in a 29 September 1984 friendly match.
- Former Nigeria coach, Chris Udemezue had his baptism of fire as Nigeria’s coach when his team was walloped 5-0 by Tunisia in a friendly match in 1984. At the time, Adegboye Onigbinde who led Nigeria to the final of 1984 Africa Cup of Nations had been cleverly eased out to assist Shooting Stars in prosecuting club continental assignment.
- Figure six is prominent in Nigeria’s upstaging of Tunisia to grab the 2010 FIFA World Cup ticket. First to be noted is the fact that the Nigerian player that scored an own goal that put an end to Nigeria’s Argentina 1978 World Cup qualification was Godwin Odiye, who wore shirt number six. Sports Village Square notes that six was the number of African teams at South Africa 2010. Six was the number of teams that Nigeria played to qualify. Six was number of matches Nigeria played in the final lap. Six was the number of matches Nigeria had had with Tunisia before the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Six was the minute that Tunisia scored against Kenya in Nairobi to take the lead in Group B ahead of Nigeria, Mozambique and Kenya. Sixth was the last game Tunisia played to relinquish the group leadership to Nigeria. Six was the number of minutes remaining in Tunisia’s ill-fated match with Mozambique in Maputo before the North Africans conceded the goal that earned Nigeria the World Cup ticket.
NIGERIA vs. TUNISIA: HEAD-TO-HEAD
P W D L F A
Tunisia 16 4 5 7 13 20
Nigeria 16 7 5 4 20 13
- 25 Nov.1961 (Afconq) Nigeria 2-1 Tunisia
- 10 Dec. 1961 (Afconq) Tunisia 2-2 Nigeria *inconclusive (Nigeria walked out).
- 25 Sept. 1977 (WCq) Tunisia 0-0 Nigeria
- 12 Nov. 1977 (WCq) Nigeria 0-1 Tunisia
- 16 Mar. 1978 (Afcon) Tunisia 0-2 Nigeria (w/o) (actual scores 1-1 before Tunisians walked out)*.
- 26 June. 1980 (WCq) Tunisia 2-0 Nigeria
- 12 Jul. 1980 (WCq) Nigeria 2-0 Tunisia * (2-2 on aggregate: Nigeria won penalty shoot-out 4-3).
- 29 Sept. 1984 (F) Tunisia 5-0 Nigeria
- 6 Jul. 1985 (WCq) Nigeria 1-0 Tunisia
- 20 Jul. 1985 (WCq) Tunisia 2-0 Nigeria
- 22 Feb. 1992 (SCSA) Tunisia 1-1 Nigeria
- 9 Aug.1997 (LG Cup) Tunisia 2-0 Nigeria
- 23. Jan.2000 (Afcon) Nigeria 4-2 Tunisia
- 11. Feb.2004 (Afcon) Nigeria 1 -1Tunisia *Tunisia won 6-3 in penalty shoot out
- 4. Feb 2006 Tunisia 1-1 Nigeria (6-5pen)
- 20 June 2009 (WCq) Tunisia 0-0 Nigeria
- 6 Sept. 2009 (WCq) Nigeria 2-2 Tunisia
- 17 July 2019 (Afcon) Nigeria 1-0 Tunisia
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The African Football Confederation (CAF) and Royal Air Maroc (RAM) have sealed a historic strategic partnership that grants Morocco’s national airline the status of “Official Global Partner” for upcoming major African football competitions.
The agreement was signed Saturday morning in Casablanca, in the presence of Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) President Fouzi Lekjaâ.
This partnership encompasses several prestigious tournaments, including the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco (AFCON) 2025 (December 21, 2025 – January 18, 2026) and CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco (WAFCON) 2024 (July 5-26, 2025).
The agreement also covers CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2025, CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2025, CAF Champions League 2024/2025 Finals, CAF Confederation Cup 2024/2025 Finals, and the CAF Women’s Champions League 2025.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe voiced enthusiasm about the collaboration.
“We are excited about the partnership between CAF and Royal Air Maroc, a world-class airline that will provide comfort and fly NationalTeams participating in the CAF competitions,” he said.
“We are confident that the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 will be the most successful AFCON in the history of this competition.”
The agreement strengthens RAM’s footprint across Africa and globally, solidifying its role as a strategic gateway between Africa and the rest of the world. It also aligns with Morocco’s emergence as an international sports hub, with the country preparing to host AFCON 2025 and co-host the FIFA World Cup 2030.
RAM’s Chairman and CEO Hamid Addou stated: “This historic partnership with CAF aligns fully with our strategic vision as an airline deeply rooted in Africa and committed to its development.”
“Royal Air Maroc doesn’t just connect destinations; it builds bridges between cultures and passions. By supporting the continent’s biggest football competitions, we reaffirm our role as a facilitator of human and sporting exchanges,” he continued.
500,000 supporters expected
Beyond its partnership role, RAM will implement an exceptional operational system to meet increased demand during CAF competitions. The airline plans to welcome over 500,000 supporters for AFCON 2025.
“We believe we will surpass this figure by far,” revealed Addou. “We will be ready to accommodate these supporters across Royal Air Maroc’s entire network.”
The airline intends to double seat capacity from qualified countries already served by RAM, such as Dakar, Abidjan, Cairo, Tunis, Bamako, Lagos, and Douala.
RAM will also intensify flight frequencies from European cities with large African communities, including Paris, Brussels, Milan, London, Marseille, Lyon, Madrid, and Barcelona.
Additionally, the airline will establish a dedicated program for domestic air transport of national teams, shuttling them between their base camps and host cities.
This positioning establishes RAM as the primary connector between Africa and Europe through its Casablanca hub. FRMF President Fouzi Lekjaâ noted that the contract “reinforces Royal Air Maroc’s first-rate leadership role in Africa.”
“Royal Air Maroc is no stranger to football,” Lekjaâ added. “It has always supported generations of our athletes and footballers here in Morocco.”
“With this expertise and experience, they will contribute significantly to making AFCON 2025 Morocco exceptional, a historic turning point in African football, cultural coexistence and African cultural exchange,” he concluded.
Addou stressed RAM’s commitment to African unity: “We are all extremely proud to be African, and in every corner of this vast and magnificent continent, we share the same ambition—to actively contribute to Africa’s development and influence.”
The RAM CEO concluded by inviting everyone to upcoming CAF calendar events: “We’ll see you very soon for the great moments ahead in the CAF calendar, particularly the Women’s AFCON starting in July and, of course, the men’s AFCON, which kicks off on December 25.”
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The presidents of the regional councils concerned by the hosting of the matches of the Africa Cup of Nations (Morocco-2025) unanimously affirmed that the implementation of infrastructure projects in anticipation of this continental event “is progressing at a sustained pace”, declaring themselves “fully mobilized” to crown with success the major sporting events scheduled in the Kingdom.
They specified, in statements to the press in Rabat following a meeting at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior devoted to the assessment of the progress of the construction and rehabilitation works of the stadiums, that major sports infrastructure projects are underway in the six host cities: Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, Fez, Marrakech and Agadir.
The President of the Casablanca-Settat Regional Council, Abdellatif Maâzouz, announced that the projects planned for upcoming international sporting events, in particular the 2025 African Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup, “are proceeding under good conditions.”
The projects related to the organisation of the AFCON will be ready by next July at the latest, he assured, specifying that there is a clear vision regarding the preparations underway for the AFCON and the 2030 World Cup, both in terms of equipment and organisational arrangements related to human resources and animation.
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AFCON
‘Land of Football’ is ‘Kingdom of Light’ as Moroccan Tourism Office and Football Federation Strike Accord
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Morocco’s football federation and tourism office have signed a groundbreaking agreement to establish the country as a major football and tourism destination leading to the milestone 2030 World Cup when the global football tournament clocks a century.
The Moroccan football body and the Tourism Office are building on the national team’s recent international success.
Though with just one success in the Africa Cup of Nations, Moroccan football soars higher than the rest in Africa and the Arab world at the World Cup.
Apart from being the only African and Arab country to have reached the World Cup semi-final stage, Morocco in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico became the first African team not to be defeated in a World Cup match when they forced Bulgaria to a 1-1 draw on 11 June.
Again, in Mexico, this time at the 1986 World Cup, Morocco became the first African team to top a group and cross the group stage.
They were just two minutes away from a major upset of West Germany in the round of 16 before Lothar Matthäus’ back-breaking goal.
The success of the football team and the tourism potential of Morocco have found a harmonious chord.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) and the National Moroccan Tourism Office (ONMT) will work together under the banner “Morocco, Land of Football,” placing the sport at the heart of the country’s tourism strategy.
“More than an institutional partnership, this convention is a shared vision: that of a Morocco that shines through football and makes it a lever for promotion, pride and tourist attractiveness,” ONMT said in a statement released after the signing.
The timing of this collaboration is strategic, coming ahead of two major sporting events: the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.
The initiative builds on widespread public enthusiasm following the Atlas Lions’ historic World Cup performance in 2022.
Under the agreement, both organizations will implement an integrated communication strategy combining visibility campaigns, influence marketing, and joint promotional activities.
The initiative will mobilize iconic figures from Moroccan football to bring this vision to life, to showcase the country’s world-class sporting facilities, rich cultural heritage, and diverse tourist attractions.
ONMT has launched a major offensive at making Morocco, the ultimate tourism and business destination as the clock ticks down to the 35th Africa Cup of Nations holding in December.
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