AFCON
After missing trophies in playing and coaching career, Peseiro says AFCON 2023 is his chance!
Nigeria’s coach, Jose Peseiro has narrated his dream of creating a new golden generation of the Super Eagles.
If his dream at the Africa Cup of Nations in January is to be realised, Peseiro may outdo the semi-final target given him by his employers, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
In offering him a short-term contract renewal after the earlier one lapsed, the NFF expected the Portuguese to take the Super Eagles to the semi-finals, a position they had reached in 15 of their last 19 appearances in 33 editions.
Peseiro had a lengthy interview with Sky Sports, speaking on sundry issues including the Napoli treatment of Victor Osimhen and his own coaching career.
Peseiro remarked that he knew there would be challenges when he took over the Super Eagles – national team of a football-obsessed nation of over 200 million people.
He spoke about challenges of the job. “The structure and organisation is not like in Europe.” Peseiro has agreed a reduction to his salary so that he could stay on for a tournament originally scheduled for this summer. “The players pushed me to stay because they believe we can win.”
The 63 year old coach has travelled wide, but major silverware has eluded him. This, he thinks, is the big opportunity. His Nigeria team will play in the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
“The main goal is to win the AFCON,” he says. “We will need to be at our maximum because we know that there is good opposition. There is Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana and Ivory Coast. But we believe we can do it. I believe. And the players believe.”
According to the report, Peseiro is trying to build something but was forced to select a number of domestic-based players for friendlies against Mexico and Ecuador last year, a frustration as he tries to foster a sense of togetherness. Not easy when players are coming together from around the world.
“I tried to explain that if you do not come for the friendly matches we cannot improve. Never will you create that connection, not only on the pitch but off it, because the spirit is important. If you meet up more often, you can create that spirit that you need.”
Osimhen has joined up with the squad in this international window, setting the example. But he is not alone. Nigeria’s depth is a point of difference with the other nations in Africa. “It is not easy for me to choose the strikers or the wingers,” laughs Peseiro.
Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi and Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho are in the squad. From Serie A, there is Milan’s Samuel Chukwueze and Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman. Victor Boniface is the leading scorer at Bayer Leverkusen, top of the Bundesliga.
But it is clear who is the star.
“When Osimhen goes to Nigeria, everybody wants to touch him or speak with him or wants a picture with him,” says Peseiro. “And not just in Nigeria. Everywhere.” In qualification for AFCON, he scored 10 goals – twice as many as anyone else for any other country.
“The only reason he did not score more was because he allowed his team-mates to take two penalties. My advice would be to take them! Other players would not allow that but if someone asks him to let them take a penalty, he allows it. He is a good guy.
“He is a strong guy, a smart guy and an amazing player, defensively and offensively. He can do everything. He pressures the centre-backs, he pressures the line by running in behind. He can attack the ball in the air and on the ground. He is motivated, quick and strong.”
It is why Nigeria are dreaming of that first AFCON success in over a decade. “We can win it,” adds Peseiro. “The players know it. They come with the same energy, the same belief, to fight for the Super Eagles.” With Victor Osimhen around, anything is possible.
And there is no chance of his national team manager forgetting it.
Peseiro also narrated his career path. A former second-tier striker in his native Portugal – “I did not play at a high level” – his coaching career took a turn after promotion to the top flight with Nacional. A job offer set him on a different trajectory.
‘I called Jose Mourinho’
“I was in Brazil scouting players when my old teacher Carlos Queiroz called me. He told me he was going to Real Madrid and wanted me as his assistant.” This was 2003, the summer that David Beckham joined the garlanded group that became known as Galacticos.
“I did not decide immediately, I called Jose Mourinho because he was my friend. Remember that he had been an assistant at Barcelona. I asked him what he thought because I was already a head coach. He told me, ‘Go. Because you can learn a lot there’.”
Suddenly, Peseiro was taking sessions with Raul, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo, with Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo. “Until then, I was afraid. Never before had I shared a dressing room with big players. But it was not difficult because they are so smart. It was fantastic.”
The experience lasted only one season. “We had 11 good players and then the others.” The experiment of blending superstars with academy prospects – and selling the unheralded Claude Makelele – became an example of why great teams beats great individuals.
Peseiro has taken those learnings into a varied career that has seen him lead Sporting to the UEFA Cup final in 2005 before working in Greece and Romania. He has been in charge at Porto and head coach of the Venezuela national team. “You have to adapt,” he says.
“The Ajax team of the 1970s are still my main reference, their mobility in attack, their control of the ball. From this, I created my model. But the game has changed a lot. Arrigo Sacchi reduced the pitch to 40 or 50 metres and it reduced the space.
“The challenge is to find that space so players can show their skills, that is what people want to see. But the modern game is a game of transition. That is what decides the best teams because it is easier to train attacking and defensive organisation than the transitions.
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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