AFCON
Super Eagles begin 19th AFCON campaign with Pharaohs test
Coach Augustine Eguavoen and his Super Eagles’ wards face a stern examination of their credentials when Nigeria and seven-time champions Egypt go for each other’s jugular in the opening match of Group D of the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations finals on Tuesday. Venue is the 30,000 –capacity Stade Roumdé Adjia in the northern Cameroonian town of Garoua and kick-off is 5pm.
Egypt swept the stakes at the first two editions of Africa’s flagship football competition, in 1957 and 1959, and then won on home soil in 1986 and in Burkina Faso 12 years later, before a hat-trick of consecutive titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
Nigeria soared to glory on home soil in 1980, won in Tunisia in 1994 and overturned bookmakers’ predictions to triumph in South Africa nine years ago.
Both teams are not unfamiliar to themselves at the AFCON, with the Pharaohs hammering the Eagles 6-3 in Nigeria’s first-ever match at the competition (in Ghana in 1963) and coming from behind to tame the Eagles 3-1 in the city of Benguela (Angola) in 2010.
In all other confrontations at the Africa Cup of Nations, the Eagles have had the upper hand.
On their march to victory in 1980, the Eagles sailed past the Pharaohs 1-0 in a group phase clash in Ibadan, and four years later, following a pulsating 2-2 draw in a semi final match in Bouake (Cote d’Ivoire), Nigeria won on penalties to reach the final against Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions.
In 1990, a lone goal by Rashidi Yekini consigned the Pharaohs to defeat in a group phase match in Algiers, and in 1994, both teams battled to a scoreless draw at the Stade Chadli Zouiten in Tunis.
Eguavoen, who leads Nigeria from the bench on Tuesday, was involved in that cagey affair in the cold of central Tunis, but envisages that there will be nothing cagey about Tuesday’s game in the sunny atmosphere of Stade Roumdé Adjia.
“I look forward to an interesting game between two ambitious teams. As I said a couple of weeks ago, we will take it one match at a time. For now, we see the clash with Egypt and all our plan is how to earn the three points. The Egyptians are a strong team and will come with a lot of confidence and steam, but we will also be going to the field with a lot of confidence and steam. It is going to be an interesting evening.”
Nigeria are without top marksman Victor Osimhen, and 2019 AFCON top scorer Odion Ighalo was held back by his Saudi Arabia club. However, the absences create opportunities for a number of young guns to make hay at Africa’s grand houseparty.
Former U17 star Taiwo Awoniyi is expected to lead the line and reproduce some of his potency from which German Bundesliga club Union Berlin is benefitting, with Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho and Czech Republic -based Peter Olayinka also on the line. Skipper Ahmed Musa and Samuel Chukwueze hit target in the training match with Cameroonian top club, Cotonsport Garoua on Friday, and there are also Greece –based Henry Onyekuru and former Olympics star Sadiq Umar as possibilities in the frontline.
Injury has kept out midfield linchpin Oghenekaro Etebo, but Wilfred Ndidi will still enforce and former U17 World Cup –winning captain Kelechi Nwakali is expected to step up to the plate and show muscle in the playmaker’s role.
Defender Leon Balogun’s forced absence, through injury, means Italy-based right back Tyrone Ebuehi will probably start while Chidozie Awaziem and Kenneth Omeruo hold sway in central, and Portugal –based Zaidu Sanusi will contend with the left back role with the versatile Olaoluwa Aina.
Egypt depends heavily on Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah, recently shortlisted for the FIFA Best Player award.
Victory on Tuesday evening will provide confidence boost for the Super Eagles ahead of the other Group D ties against Sudan (January 15) and Guinea Bissau (January 19).
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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