AFCON
MOROCCO 2025: Three Cities, One Intelligence: What Ifrane, Azrou, and Fès Reveal About Morocco
By Sola Fanawopo, Fez
Nothing educates you better than travel if you are a true student of life. My movement across the Fès region over the past two weeks has been a quiet masterclass in how towns, culture, and policy intersect.
How CAF arrived at choosing Fès as the Super Eagles’ base still invites explanation. But having lived here through rain, routines, and matchday rhythms, there is little to complain about.
For anyone currently in Fès waiting for the Super Eagles’ next match on Monday, take this advice seriously: visit Ifrane and Azrou. You will thank yourself later.
What becomes immediately clear is that Morocco does not debate development in theory—it demonstrates it in geography.
Within a short stretch of the Middle Atlas corridor sit three towns—Ifrane, Azrou, and Fès—each offering a different answer to the same national question:
How do you build a modern state without erasing your soul?
This contrast is not accidental. It is strategic.
Ifrane: The Discipline of Planning
Ifrane is often dismissed as artificial, “un-Moroccan,” or excessively European. That criticism misses the point. Ifrane was never meant to imitate Morocco; it was meant to test order.
Wide roads, controlled zoning, disciplined green spaces, and environmental restraint define the city. It is designed for governance, learning, and retreat—not chaos or improvisation.
The presence of Al Akhawayn University reinforces this logic. Ifrane functions as Morocco’s laboratory of patience—a proof that when the state plans deliberately, it can produce calm, functionality, and dignity.
The lesson is not that all cities should look like Ifrane.
The lesson is that planning is not a colonial vice; it is a civilisational tool.
Prepare for the snow in Ifrane—this is why it is called Little Switzerland. You will enjoy it. I did.
Azrou: Culture That Lives, Not Museums
If Ifrane is disciplined, Azrou is breath.
Azrou is not preserved—it is alive. Markets spill into streets, conversations stretch deep into cafés, and Amazing identity is not curated for visitors; it is practiced daily. This is Morocco at the human scale.
Yet Azrou also exposes a familiar African dilemma: authentic towns are often left under-invested, as though culture alone is sufficient. It is not.
Culture thrives best when supported by infrastructure, sanitation, and opportunity. Azrou’s greatest asset is its people. Its weakness is the state’s hesitation to match that human energy with serious, sustained planning.
You will also enjoy a memorable meal here. The town’s name—linked to stone—feels apt, given the imposing granite formations in the area.
Fès: Memory as Power
Fès does not compete with modern cities; it commands them.
As Morocco’s spiritual and intellectual capital, Fès is where law, religion, craftsmanship, and scholarship once converged to produce a civilisation that radiated across North and West Africa.
Institutions like the University of al-Qarawiyyin remind us that African modernity did not begin with Europe. Ask deliberately for the Medina and visit the university—the exposure is profound.
But Fès also bears the weight of its greatness. Preservation collides daily with congestion, poverty, and modern demands. Still, Morocco resists the temptation to erase Fès for convenience. Instead, it protects it—imperfectly, yes—but intentionally.
That choice matters.
A nation that abandons its memory soon loses its direction.
The Intelligence in the Contrast
What makes Morocco exceptional is not simply that it has Ifrane, Azrou, and Fès. It is that it allows all three to exist without forcing them into a single model.
Planned order, organic culture, and historical authority are not enemies. They are complementary pillars of nation-building.
Many African countries—Nigeria, especially—fall into a recurring trap:
modernity without memory
culture without structure
history without renewal
Morocco shows another way. It segments purpose, protects differences, and coordinates development without cultural panic.
The Quiet Lesson
The Middle Atlas corridor is a silent lecture in statecraft.
It teaches that development is not about copying cities but assigning roles. Some places must preserve memory. Some must carry daily life. Some must experiment with the future.
Nations fail not because they lack resources, but because they lack this clarity.
In Ifrane, Azrou, and Fès, Morocco reveals a deeper truth:
Development is not noise—it is intelligence made visible.
Sola Fanawopo, is a journalist and Chairman Osun Football Association
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AFCON
Where Diplomacy Meets Destiny: Moroccan Ambassador Links Fez Roots with Nigeria’s Super Eagles
By Kunle Solaja, Tangier, enroute Rabat
Morocco’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Moha OU Ali Tagma, has expressed delight in the Super Eagles’ good run in Fez and wishes the team the best of luck in the Round of 16 match with Mozambique on Monday.
In a message to the Sports Village Square, the ambassador expressed his personal delight that the Nigerians are playing in the Fez region, which happens to be his region of origin.
“They are playing in my region, as I am from Azrou and Ifrane. What a delightful coincidence. My diplomatic mission is in Nigeria, and Nigeria is playing in my region!”
Fez has become a sort of home for Nigerian teams as they are yet to lose any match in the region, which sit in the mid region of the stretched Atlas range of mountains.
The mountain city has increasingly felt like home ground for Nigerian teams. Set in the heart of the Atlas range, the city boasts a rare and proud Nigerian record: no Nigerian side has ever lost a competitive match there.
In 1994, Shooting Stars pulled a stunning 1-1 with the home team, MAS Fez, in an African Cup of Champions game. The Super Eagles have played three matches in Fez and won all, becoming one of the only two of the 24 teams of AFCON 2025 to achieve the feat.
The Super Eagles’ flawless Fez record places Nigeria among only two of the 24 teams at AFCON 2025 to have won every match played in a single host city — an achievement that has added to the aura surrounding Monday’s showdown.
As Fez prepares to host its final match of the tournament, the Moroccan ambassador’s message blends diplomacy, heritage and footballing pride — and carries a clear wish: that the Super Eagles extend their perfect Fez story with victory over Mozambique and march confidently into the quarter-final.
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By Kunle Solaja, Rabat
Hosts Morocco national football team will step into the Round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday in Rabat as clear favourites against Tanzania national football team, but with a message that has been firmly drilled into the squad: humility above all.
Morocco, buoyed by fervent home support, carry lofty ambitions as they continue their pursuit of a continental title that has eluded them since 1976. Yet head coach Walid Regragui has consistently warned that knockout football brings a different reality — one where confidence must be balanced by discipline.
“AFCON is won as much with the mind as with the legs,” Regragui has stressed in the build-up, reminding his players that the group stage is now irrelevant. In the knockout rounds, margins are thinner, mistakes are costly, and complacency is often punished without mercy.
The caution is rooted in experience. On several occasions, the Atlas Lions have been undone by supposedly lesser-fancied opponents, lapses of concentration proving more damaging than any shortage of quality. Determined to break that cycle, Regragui is leaning on seasoned leaders such as Achraf Hakimi and captain Romain Saïss to steady both the tactical and psychological ship.
“At this stage, there are no favourites,” Saïss warned. “Only teams fighting to survive. Any lack of humility or concentration will be punished immediately.”
Across the pitch, Tanzania arrive in Rabat riding the momentum of history. The Taifa Stars have reached the AFCON Round of 16 for the first time, a milestone they are keen to build on rather than simply celebrate.
Under Argentine coach Miguel Ángel Gamondi — who boasts extensive experience in Moroccan football — Tanzania have prepared with a clear plan: defensive discipline, collective organisation and sharp transitions. Gamondi’s deep understanding of the Moroccan environment and crowd pressure could prove a valuable asset.
Captain Mbwana Samatta, expected to spearhead Tanzania’s attacking efforts, reflected his side’s quiet confidence ahead of the contest.
“We respect Morocco, especially at home,” Samatta said. “But we are not here to admire anyone. It’s 11 against 11, and we want to show that Tanzania deserve to be at this level.”
As Rabat braces for a charged atmosphere, Sunday’s encounter promises more than a routine knockout tie — a test of Morocco’s mental resolve against a fearless Tanzania side playing with nothing to lose.
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By Kunle Solaja, Rabat.
Key Match Stat:
The last three meetings between South Africa and Cameroon have all ended in draws, including a friendly on 10 January 2015 and both matches during qualification for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
South Africa and Cameroon will meet at the Africa Cup of Nations for only the second time when they square off in a Round of 16 encounter at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat on Sunday night, with kick-off set for 20h00 local time (19h00 GMT).
Despite their long-standing status on the continental stage, meetings between South Africa national football team and Cameroon national football team at Africa’s flagship tournament have been rare. Their only previous AFCON meeting came in the opening match of the 1996 edition, when hosts South Africa stunned Cameroon 3–0 at Soccer City, a result that ignited Bafana Bafana’s historic march to their maiden continental title.
Across all competitions, the sides have faced each other nine times. South Africa hold the historical edge with three wins, while Cameroon have managed just one victory, with five matches ending in draws. Notably, Cameroon’s lone success came in a 2–1 friendly win in July 1992, and the Indomitable Lions have not beaten South Africa in the seven encounters played since then.
The fixture carries personal significance for South Africa head coach Hugo Broos, who famously guided Cameroon to their fifth AFCON crown in 2017. Broos was in charge of the Indomitable Lions when the teams met during qualification for that tournament, with both legs finishing in 2–2 draws. Adding another layer of nostalgia, assistant coach Helman Mkhalele is expected on the touchline after featuring as a substitute in South Africa’s iconic 1996 opening win over Cameroon.
While emotions may run high, both teams arrive in Rabat determined to assert themselves in what promises to be a tightly contested knockout tie. South Africa are seeking to build on recent progress and surpass their previous AFCON outing, while five-time champions Cameroon continue their campaign with a squad their technical staff describe as still under construction but steadily improving.
With the last three meetings between the sides all ending in draws — including a January 2015 friendly and both 2017 AFCON qualifiers — fine margins are once again expected to define the outcome.
“If you win an AFCON with a country, there’s always a little place in your heart that stays for the rest of your life,” Broos said. “That’s the case with Cameroon and me. But tomorrow I can’t have mercy. I want to win because I’m the coach of South Africa now.”
Midfielder Teboho Mokoena echoed that ambition, stressing the team’s desire to go further than before. “The talk in camp is that we need to do better than the last AFCON. We know it will be tough against Cameroon, but we’re looking forward to the game,” he said.
Cameroon head coach David Pagou underlined the challenge ahead, praising South Africa’s cohesion. “They are the most cohesive team in this competition,” he said. “It will be a very difficult match, but it is a point of pride just to be here.”
For Cameroon defender Samuel Kotto, the contest represents the reward for collective effort. “A lot of work and preparation is underway. It’s a matter of great pride to represent our country — we are like a family,” he said.
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Where Diplomacy Meets Destiny: Moroccan Ambassador Links Fez Roots with Nigeria’s Super Eagles
MOROCCO 2025: Three Cities, One Intelligence: What Ifrane, Azrou, and Fès Reveal About Morocco
Morocco Approach AFCON Knockout Test with Caution Against History-Making Tanzania
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