AFCON
Ahead of Nigeria –Egypt Afcon showdown, Iconic keeper Hadary says Egypt should fear no one
Egypt will begin their quest for a record extending ninth victory at the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday with a titanic clash with three time winners and 10 time finalists, Nigeria.
The match in Garoua may set the tone for what the two teams may achieve as the competition enters its 33rd edition.
According to an Egyptian publication, Ahram, Egypt’s goalkeeping coach and iconic shot-stopper Essam El-Hadary said the team should fear no one if they are to win the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 12 years.
He was in goal in 2010 when Egypt and Nigeria last met at the Africa Cup of Nations. Egypt won the match 3-1 and went ahead to win the cup.
The Pharaohs have not won the coveted title since they clinched the last of their record seven crowns in 2010. They came close in 2017, only to surrender their lead and lose 2-1 to Cameroon in the final.
Four years ago, El-Hadary produced heroics at the age of 44 to steer Egypt to the final but he is now tasked with guiding younger keepers, who would dream of following in his footsteps.
“For a team that wants to win the African Cup of Nations, it should not matter who they face.
“There is no such thing as small teams in Africa, ” El-Hadary said in a video interview carried on the Egyptian Football Association’s Twitter account.
“To go far, you need to have a specific target in your mind. For us, this means winning the tournament.”
Egypt, who were drawn in Group D of the Nations Cup, open their campaign against Nigeria on 11 January before Guinea-Bissau and Sudan.
“We need to be careful and take it one game at a time. It’s a step by step process,” El-Hadary, who won four Nations Cup titles with Egypt, added.
In exactly 12 months from today, Africa’s biggest event: the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations will kick-off in Morocco.
Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 is expected to break all records set by the previous edition in Côte d’Ivoire.
The AFCON is now the single biggest event on African soil attracting a television audience of over 1.5 billion and more than 2.4 billion digital streams.
Morocco will play host to the continental finals for the first time since 1988, and much work has already been done in preparing for the 24-team tournament that will run from 21 December, 2025 to 18 January, 2026.
The countdown has begun, with the draw for the group stages at the finals set for 27 January, 2025 in Rabat, Morocco, after which teams will learn their fate and their path to the trophy.
The tournament will be the 35th staging of Africa’s greatest sporting show and another chapter in the rich history of a competition first played in 1957.
Morocco boasts world-class facilities, including the iconic Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca, which hosted the 1988 AFCON final where Cameroon edged Nigeria 1-0.
The venue, and several others, will be filled with passionate fans, many of who will hope to see Morocco lift the continental crown for the first time since 1976.
Before the Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco will host the CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (30 March-19 April, 2025) and the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (5-26 July, 2025).
Morocco was also this month confirmed as co-host of the 2030 FIFA World Cup along with Spain and Portugal.
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Super Eagles and the other 23 finalist teams of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 will get to know the route they have to navigate to the final match of the competition.
This is one of the key points of the executive committee meeting of CAF held in Marrakech, Morocco ahead of the CAF Awards on Monday.
CAF President, Dr Motsepe announced that the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Final Draw will be held in Rabat, Morocco, on 27 January 2025.
The calendar for the year was also streamlined as the key dates were announced.
Key dates:
- CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025: Opening Match will be played Sunday, 30 March 2025; Final Match will be played Saturday, 19 April 2025
- CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2025:
Opening Match will be played Saturday, 26 April 2025; Final Match will be played Sunday, 18 May 2025
- CAF Confederation Cup 2024-25:
Final, First Leg will be played Saturday, 17 May 2025; Final, Second Leg will be played Sunday, 25 May 2025
- CAF Champions League 2024-25:
Final, First Leg will be played Saturday, 24 May 2025; Final, Second Leg will be played Sunday, 1 June 2025
- CAF Women’s Champions League 2025:
Opening Match will be played Saturday, 8 November 2025; Final Match will be played Sunday, 23 November 2025
- CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025:
Opening match will be played Sunday, 21 December 2025; Final Match will be played Sunday, 18 January 2026.
Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville may put up joint candidacy for the host of the 2029 Africa Cup of Nations.
If that happens, it would be the first collaboration between the two neighbouring countries for a sporting event.
No official announcement has yet been made, but speculations in the media have it that the Minister of Sports of DR Congo, Didier Budimbu, confirmed this ambition in a statement relayed by local media: “With my counterpart from Congo-Brazzaville, we are determined to organize the CAN 2029 together. “
Morocco will be hosting the 2025 edition while the trio of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania already have that of 2027.
At the 46th General Assembly of CAF in Addis Ababa in October,
Ethiopia’s president, Taye Astike Selassie, requested that CAF endorse the East African nation’s bid to host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2029.
Ethiopia last hosted the Africa Cup of Nations in 1976. None of the two Congo republics has ever hosted.
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