AFCON
Beyond sports and Afcon, Morocco offers more for tourists and businessmen
BY KUNLE SOLAJA, who was in Morocco.
Excitements continue to build in Morocco as the clock ticks down to the commencement of big sporting activities in the kingdom. Now the Under 17 Africa Cup of Nations is holding in the country.
Next on the card is the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations to be held in July and the biggest of them all, the continent’s sports flagship, the Africa Cup of Nations will be held in December and run through to January 2025.
It will be the first to be held in December and to spill into the following year. These offer a special flavour to what Morocco is offering.
Beyond having the best sporting facilities in the continent to host major events, even the World Cup in 2030, the kingdom is preparing to welcome fans, teams, and media from across the continent and beyond.
It is not just for sports, it also opens new business opportunities for people and opens the doors for all to see the explore the kingdom’s tourism potential.
The Moroccan National Tourism Office (MNTO) has launched a dedicated promotional strategy to boost visibility across African markets.
It organised a major familiarization trip for travel professionals from key African countries. The visit also included two pan-African workshops connecting Moroccan operators with counterparts from markets such as Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Angola.
The essence, according to Ahmed Oumaarir, the head of the MNTO, is to co-develop tailored travel packages for those attending AFCON 2025 and also spotlight Morocco’s diverse tourism offering.
Ahmed Oumaarir, the head of the MNTO flanked by Nigerian journalists, Suleiman Uba Gaya (left) and Kunle Solaja.
Already, the kingdom has the potential to make it the ultimate tourism destination in Africa.
There was a coordinated tour of some major tourist centres in Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech and Agadir.
Those cities are full of historical and modern monuments and activities worth exploring. Marrakech which has back-to-back staged the annual CAF Awards in 2023 and 2024 offers more than just sports.
Casablanca is the commercial heartbeat of Morocco. It is famous for its white buildings.
The city is the home of two major Moroccan football teams, Raja Casablanca and Wydad Athletic Casablanca. The city hosted the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations final match where Nigeria lost 1-0 to Cameroon.
For the AFCON 2025, the city will host its first match on Christmas Eve when Burkina Faso will face Equatorial Guinea.
The third-place match is one of the eight duels to be hosted by the city. One of the biggest monuments to behold in the city is the Hassan II Mosque, completed in 1993.
It is standing partly over the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and has a 210-metre minaret topped with lasers directed toward Mecca.
The majestic Hassan II Mosque is viewed from the Atlantic Ocean.
The Capital City of Rabat will host the opening and final matches of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The famous Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium is undergoing almost complete remodelling.
A major area of interest is the Mohammed VI Football Complex which also houses the Moroccan National Team Football Museum.
An architectural masterpiece, the new offices of Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF) are the latest addition to the sumptuous Mohammed VI Football Complex.
Setting the pace in documentation, the football museum stands to inspire current and future footballers while also paying tributes to past heroes.
The serene setting of the place offers good camping and medical facilities for teams. Within the area is also, the new headquarters of the new headquarters of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF) which was inaugurated in July 2023.
“The excellent headquarters that we visited and the world-class stadiums and football infrastructure in Morocco are good examples of the success and accomplishments that can be achieved through partnerships between our African Governments and our National Football Associations”, CAF president, Dr. Patrice Motsepe remarked during the inauguration of the complex two years ago.
Hassan Kharbouchi, the director of the Mohammed VI Complex gave an overview of the project and enunciated the vision of King Mohammed VI.
As for the football museum, Zayd Ouakrim, the curator remarked that the complex was to illustrate the glorious past, the glowing present and the promising future.
In Marrakech, it was sheer excitement to experience the hot air balloon flight and float over 300 metres above the land and hills of the city of luxury with its famous medina.
The hot air balloon flights are spectacular and also refreshing offering a splendid experience.
There were over 30 flights at the time of experiencing the splendid activities. The flight commandant of the hot balloon that I took, Pierre Barre explained the mode of flight and the scenes below as the balloon flew majestically over some of the adjourning hills around Marrakech.
Hot Air balloon pilot, Pierre Barre (left) explains the thrills attendant to the adventure
At the end of the flights which take approximately an hour, tourists are given flight certificates as souvenirs. One of the hot air balloon flight companies has been ballooning over Marrakech’s rural areas, especially Oulad El Garn village since 1990.
According to the information gathered, most of the inhabitants earn their living from the proceeds of the air balloon activities, thus the project is contributing to the locals’ health care and sustainability.
So, AFCON teams and fans of South Africa, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Comoros, Gabon and Sudan have other activities to look out for while in Marrakech. Another activity is biking with the Marrakech Insiders for a different biking experience.
Getting a new biking experience in Marrakech.
Agadir is where the Atlas Mountains blend with sports facility
Agadir, set at the lower part of the range of the Atlas Mountains, is where Egypt, Cameroon, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Gabon will play some of their group matches, harbours some historical monuments that have turned the coastal city into a tourist attraction.
The stadium itself pays tribute to the range of mountains which in some places are snow-capped.
The Stade d’Agadir is shaped like the Atlas Mountains range.
The Grand Stade d’Agadir will host its first-ever Africa Cup of Nations match that pitches Egypt against Zimbabwe on 22 December, where the Atlas Mountains blend with a sports facility.
Visitors will see how a stadium is shaped in the form of a mountain. The exterior colour also blends with the brownish appearance of the mountains.
Agadir is where the ruins of the tragic 1960 earthquake were well documented and turned into a tourist attraction for visitors.
A tour guard offered some heart-wrenching recalls at the peak of the Kasbah, a historic fortress on a hilltop overlooking Agadir.
Pointing to a barren land below, he remarked: “This is where some of our great and grandparents are buried alive.”
The earthquake of 29 February 1960 wiped off about 15,000 people. That was about a third of the city’s population at the time. The earthquake occurred just some 20 minutes to midnight leading to high casualty as most were already in bed.
It is the most destructive and deadliest earthquake in Moroccan history. It destroyed nearly 90 percent of the ancient city of Agadir which historically dates back to 1325.
The ruins of the old city are now preserved with no building allowed as a tribute to the dead. Two years ago, the tourist potential of the place got a boost with the construction of Morocco’s first cable car system.
This offers a breathtaking panoramic view of the city and the Atlantic Ocean.
The passage between the two cable car stations, with disengaged cabins, allows one to view the bay of Agadir.
Passengers embarking and disembarking from cable cars at the base station.
It takes a breathtaking six to seven minutes to move from the base station to the Kasbah, a historic fortress on a hilltop. The Kasbah, meaning “fortress” in Arabic, was built in 1572 to protect the port of Agadir.
It is a combination of thrill and fear as passengers find themselves dangling some 1,700 metres above the ground.
Each cabin of the 36 cars takes eight passengers hanging over 1,700 meters. The cable car project is part of the national strategy to promote investment in Morocco’s tourism sector. The ambitious project aims to strengthen and enhance existing tourism infrastructure while diversifying its offerings to increase the region’s appeal.
A panoramic view of Agadir from one of the cable cars.
Not done yet, in Agadir are two disused aircraft converted into hanging aeroplane restaurants overlooking the harbour and the majestic Atlantic Ocean.
The aircraft-turned-restaurant is set on hills, just behind the Kasbah. From other sources, Sports Village Square gathered the aeroplane restaurant will open to visitors in June this year, just in time for visitors and teams attending the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in July and December respectively.
Viewed from the Atlantic Ocean in a cruise boat, the hills on which the Kasbah is built have an Arabic inscription. Saad Allah Moudden, a member of the MNTO team translated it thus: “God, the Homeland (Morocco), the King.”
He explained that the inscription which is on the most visible parts of the Atlas range of mountains, forms the motto of Morocco where God is exulted, the Kingdom of Morocco and the King are revered. It is an expression of loyalty and patriotism.
According to Majida Chtioui, the trade manager at MNTO, the next activity is a European roadshow with the aim of targeting countries with strong African diaspora communities, connecting Moroccan tourism operators with specialized travel agents to further promote AFCON-related travel.
Through targeted communication and promotional efforts in key markets, MNTO aims to strengthen Morocco’s tourism appeal and elevate its image far beyond the African continent.
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By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria’s senior national team, the Super Eagles, will discover their route to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations when the Confederation of African Football (Confederation of African Football) conducts the qualifying draw on May 19, 2026.
This is an exercise that will define the country’s pathway to the historic PAMOJA 2027 tournament.
The draw, coming after the conclusion of the preliminary round, will feature 48 teams, including co-hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. They will be pooled into 12 groups of four teams each. Only the top two teams from each group will progress to the final tournament, setting up what promises to be a fiercely competitive qualification series.
For Nigeria, a three-time African champion and podium finisher in three of the last four editions, the qualification format is familiar, but the stakes are evolving. They will need a good head start to avert the type of tragedy that defined their World Cup 2026 qualification campaign.
The Super Eagles have maintained a strong record in AFCON qualifying campaigns in recent years, yet inconsistency at the tournament proper has raised expectations for not just qualification, but a deeper continental impact.
The six-match qualification series will be spread across three FIFA international windows:
- * September–October 2026 (Matchdays 1 & 2)
- * November 2026 (Matchdays 3 & 4)
- * March 2027 (Matchdays 5 & 6)
This staggered schedule will test squad depth, technical stability, and administrative efficiency, which are areas that have historically influenced Nigeria’s performance as much as on-field quality.
East Africa Return and Logistical Implications
The 2027 tournament will mark AFCON’s return to the East African region for the first time since the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations.
For Nigeria, this introduces a different competitive environment—altitude variations, travel logistics across three host nations, and potentially unfamiliar playing conditions.
The tri-nation hosting model also means that teams must prepare for a geographically dispersed tournament, requiring early planning in scouting, acclimatisation, and logistics—areas where Nigeria has previously faced challenges in major competitions.
CAF is banking on the momentum generated by recent tournaments such as the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, both of which recorded significant commercial growth, increased sponsorship value, and expanded global broadcast audiences.
For Nigeria, one of Africa’s most marketable football brands, this growth presents both opportunity and pressure. Strong performances by the Super Eagles not only boost national pride but also reinforce Nigeria’s commercial relevance in African football’s evolving ecosystem.
While the May 19 draw will simply allocate opponents on paper, its implications run deeper. A favourable group could ease Nigeria’s passage, but recent AFCON qualifiers have shown that traditional hierarchies are narrowing, with emerging teams increasingly competitive.
For the Super Eagles, the road to PAMOJA 2027 is not just about qualification—it is about reasserting continental dominance in an era where African football is becoming more competitive, more commercial, and more globally visible.
The journey begins with the draw, but for Nigeria, expectations will stretch far beyond simply making the trip to East Africa.
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By Kunle Solaja.
The Confederation of African Football (Confederation of African Football) has formally unveiled the competition window for the landmark Africa Cup of Nations, tagged PAMOJA 2027, setting the stage for what is shaping up to be one of the most politically and structurally significant tournaments in the competition’s history.
Scheduled to kick off on Saturday, 19 June 2027, with the final fixed for Saturday, 17 July 2027, the tournament marks only the second time the AFCON will be staged in the June–July window. The first was the expanded 24-team edition in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, a shift originally designed to align African football with the European off-season calendar and improve player availability.
A Return to June–July: Progress or Persistent Constraint?
While the timing suggests continuity with the 2019 precedent, it also underscores a deeper tension within African football governance. CAF’s confirmation that the dates required approval from the FIFA Council, following a meeting in Vancouver, raises renewed questions about the confederation’s operational autonomy.
Historically, AFCON scheduling has been vulnerable to external pressures, particularly from European clubs and leagues reluctant to release African players mid-season. The June–July calendar was initially seen as a strategic compromise. However, the necessity of FIFA ratification in 2027 signals that CAF’s flagship tournament still operates within a framework heavily influenced by global football politics.
This development may reignite debate about whether CAF is charting an independent course or increasingly aligning its decisions with FIFA’s broader international calendar priorities.
Beyond scheduling, AFCON 2027 represents a structural leap. For the first time, three nations—Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda—will jointly host the tournament.
This tri-nation model, branded “PAMOJA” (Swahili for togetherness), is more than symbolic. It reflects CAF’s attempt to decentralise hosting rights, reduce infrastructural pressure on single nations, and expand the tournament’s commercial and cultural footprint.
With a projected reach of over 400 million people across East Africa, the tournament offers significant opportunities:
- Market expansion: Opening new commercial corridors in a region historically underrepresented in hosting major football events.
- Infrastructure development: Accelerated investment in stadiums, transport, and tourism across three countries.
- Regional integration: Football as a tool for political and economic cooperation within East Africa.
Yet, the model is not without risks. Multi-country hosting introduces logistical complexities—border coordination, security harmonisation, and infrastructure parity—that CAF has not previously managed at this scale.
Waiting for Key Decisions
CAF has deferred the announcement of which cities or countries will host the opening match and final, decisions that will carry both symbolic and economic weight. These choices could influence regional balance and perceptions of equity among the co-hosts.
AFCON 2027 sits at the intersection of ambition and dependency. On one hand, it embodies innovation—a new hosting model and a reaffirmed global calendar alignment. On the other, it highlights lingering structural challenges, particularly CAF’s reliance on FIFA’s approval mechanisms.
As preparations unfold, the success of PAMOJA 2027 will likely be judged not just by the quality of football on display, but by how effectively CAF navigates these competing forces—continental aspiration versus global integration.
In many ways, AFCON 2027 will be a test of whether African football can expand its horizons without compromising its independence.
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By Kunle Solaja.
Defending champions Morocco will take the first formal step in their title defence when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducts the draw for the AFCON PAMOJA 2027 qualifiers on May 19, 2026, two days before the 122nd anniversary of the founding of FIFA.
Fresh from their triumph at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, the Atlas Lions now face the challenge of sustaining continental dominance as they begin the journey toward the historic East African finals, to be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
As reigning champions, Morocco enter the qualifiers with a target on their back. Their recent rise, bolstered by strong World Cup performances and a deep pool of Europe-based talents, has elevated expectations both at home and across the continent.
But history suggests that defending an AFCON title is rarely straightforward. The qualifying format, which includes 48 teams drawn into 12 groups of four, leaves little margin for complacency. Only the top two teams in each group will progress, meaning even established powers must navigate a potentially tricky six-match campaign.
The qualifiers will unfold across three FIFA international windows:
- * September–October 2026 (Matchdays 1 & 2)
- * November 2026 (Matchdays 3 & 4)
- * March 2027 (Matchdays 5 & 6)
For Morocco, maintaining squad cohesion across these windows will be crucial. With players spread across Europe’s top leagues, managing fatigue, travel, and club-country balance will test the technical crew’s planning and depth.
AFCON 2027 will mark the tournament’s return to East Africa for the first time since the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations. The unique three-country hosting model introduces new logistical variables—ranging from climate and altitude differences to travel across multiple venues.
For Morocco, whose recent success has been built on tactical discipline and structured preparation, early adaptation to these conditions could prove decisive in their title defence.
CAF’s recent tournaments—including the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and Morocco 2025—have recorded unprecedented commercial success, expanding the global reach of African football.
As defending champions, Morocco stand at the centre of this growth. Their performances will not only shape the competitive narrative of AFCON 2027 but also influence the tournament’s commercial appeal and global visibility.
While the May 19 draw will determine Morocco’s immediate opponents, the broader mission is clear: retain continental supremacy in an increasingly competitive African football landscape.
For the Atlas Lions, the road to PAMOJA 2027 is not merely about securing qualification—it is about proving that their recent triumph was not a peak, but the beginning of sustained dominance.
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