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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Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe has praised Morocco’s King Mohammed VI for what he described as a powerful gesture of unity and reconciliation following the royal pardon granted to Senegalese supporters convicted over offences linked to the final match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
In a statement released on Saturday, Motsepe expressed deep appreciation on behalf of CAF’s 54 member associations, hailing the Moroccan monarch’s decision as a demonstration of football’s ability to foster peace and solidarity across the continent.
“I would like to express our deep gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, for granting His Royal Pardon to the Senegalese supporters convicted of offences relating to the final match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025,” Motsepe stated.
The CAF president said the pardon reflected Morocco’s enduring commitment to African unity and highlighted football’s growing role as a bridge between nations and cultures.
“CAF has consistently emphasised its commitment to utilise football to contribute to uniting our people from different racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds,” he said.
“The pardon by His Majesty King Mohammed VI is an uplifting and motivating illustration of the power of football to unite and bring our people together in Africa and worldwide.”
Motsepe also revealed that during recent visits to both Morocco and Senegal, he had been struck by the deep historical and cultural bonds shared by the two countries.
“I was amazed and impressed when I was briefed about the historic and extensive ties between the people of Senegal and Morocco,” he added.
The statement further reinforced Morocco’s rising influence within African football, especially after successfully hosting the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and positioning itself as one of Africa’s leading football destinations ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which it will co-host with Spain and Portugal.
Motsepe also extended CAF’s best wishes to Africa’s representatives at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, expressing confidence that the continent’s teams would perform strongly on the global stage.
Among the African nations mentioned were Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Cape Verde and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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By Kunle Solaja.
Former African champions Algeria and Zambia are set for an early showdown after the release of the Group I fixtures for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Algeria host Zambia on Matchday One on September 21, 2026, in what is expected to be one of the headline fixtures of the qualifying campaign, while Togo entertain Burundi in the group’s other opening tie.
The Desert Foxes are favourites to qualify, but Zambia’s growing consistency and Togo’s unpredictability could make the race highly competitive.
Algeria travel to Burundi on Matchday Two before facing Togo in back-to-back encounters across Matchdays Three and Four. Zambia also meet Burundi home and away during the same period.
The potentially decisive fixture comes on March 22, 2027, when Zambia host Algeria in a clash that could determine the final standings.
Group I Fixtures
Matchday 1 — September 21, 2026
- Algeria vs Zambia
- Togo vs Burundi
Matchday 2 — October 6, 2026
- Zambia vs Togo
- Burundi vs Algeria
Matchday 3 — October 2026
- Algeria vs Togo
- Zambia vs Burundi
Matchday 4 — November 17, 2026
- Togo vs Algeria
- Burundi vs Zambia
Matchday 5 — March 22, 2027
- Zambia vs Algeria
- Burundi vs Togo
Matchday 6 — March 30, 2027
- Togo vs Zambia
- Algeria vs Burundi
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By Kunle Solaja.
African heavyweights Senegal will launch their quest for another Africa Cup of Nations appearance with a home clash against Mozambique in Group J of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers.
The Lions of Teranga, among the continent’s strongest teams in recent years, headline a group that also includes Sudan and Ethiopia.
Senegal host Mozambique on Matchday One on September 21, 2026, while Sudan tackle Ethiopia in the other opening encounter.
Senegal are strong favourites to dominate the group, but Sudan and Mozambique are expected to battle fiercely for qualification points.
The key fixtures may emerge in the double-header between Senegal and Sudan across Matchdays Three and Four, while Mozambique and Ethiopia also face each other home and away.
Senegal travel to Mozambique on Matchday Five before ending their campaign at home against Ethiopia on March 30, 2027.
Group J Fixtures
Matchday 1 — September 21, 2026
- Senegal vs Mozambique
- Sudan vs Ethiopia
Matchday 2 — October 6, 2026
- Mozambique vs Sudan
- Ethiopia vs Senegal
Matchday 3 — October 2026
- Senegal vs Sudan
- Mozambique vs Ethiopia
Matchday 4 — November 17, 2026
- Sudan vs Senegal
- Ethiopia vs Mozambique
Matchday 5 — March 22, 2027
- Mozambique vs Senegal
- Ethiopia vs Sudan
Matchday 6 — March 30, 2027
- Sudan vs Mozambique
- Senegal vs Ethiopia
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