AFCON
It is End of an Era
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
South Africa on Saturday proved that winning a mach is not about the duration of camping, but how tactical you are! Match reading ability is essential. So also is ability to gather credible intelligence about the opposition. Those were the lessons handed over to Gernot Rohr and his band of Super Eagles as they were handed a 0-2 defeat on home soil.
It is the second time since 1962 that Nigeria had lost an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at home. The first time was the 2-3 loss to Congo in the opening game for the 2015 edition.
Great Tokelo Rantie! Despite the scoring ability of the man who had scored two goals against Nigeria before, he was often left unmarked. That is a stocky player Nigerians will never forget. He had scored three goals against Nigeria on the lovely Uyo stadium pitch. He easily put Bafana Bafana on the victory path when he strategically positioned himself to nod past clay-footed Daniel Akpeyi in goal for Nigeria in the second half.
While the Super Eagles were desperately searching for a leveller, South Africa in a counter attack doubled their lead as Percie Tau rounded up an advancing Goalkeeper Akpeyi to compound the Super Eagles’ woes.
Even though third on the log of four teams, the Nigerian side remains, the only team in Group E that has not scored. Even the routed Seychelles managed to put a last minute goal past Libya on Friday night.
And so, Gernot Rohr’s short unbeaten run has been cut short. It is the first time South Africa beat Nigeria in a competitive game and also the second time Stuart Baxter led South Africa to beat Nigeria having earlier done that in a friendly match 13 years ago in Johannesburg.
Focus has now shifted from Nigeria beating South Africa to when last did Nigeria beat South Africa. One has to look back to nearly four years ago at the 2013 Nelson Mandela Challenge. The Bafana Bafana have now not extended their unbeaten run to 18 matches, the longest current streak in the African continent.
They are now confident of beating the Super Eagles on any ground! If there is any redemption left for the Super Eagles, they will have to wait for nine months when they will be away to Seychelles on March 23 the same day the two front runners, Libya and South Africa will be meeting in South Africa.
Intelligent Baxter! His assessment of the Nigerian side was very accurate. He had plotted out every possible scenario. The match virtually followed the script he had written. He plotted every stage of the game from the beginning to the closing stage.
His plan of curtaining the Super Eagles in the first 20 minutes worked and his intention was to get the team frustrated. Then to open up in the second half. That was the stage his team got the two goals. It could have been more, if Nigeria had not been saved by the wood work in the 69th minute.
The South Africans have proven that the Super Eagles can be beaten at home. This will undoubtedly boost Cameroon’s hope of picking points in the next major assignment, the World Cup qualifier in August.
RESULTS SO FAR
FRIDAY
Group E: Libya 5-1 Seychelles
Group A: Sudan 1-3 Madagascar
SATURDAY
Group B: Malawi 1-0 Comoros
Group C: Burundi 3-0 South Sudan
Group B: Cameroon 1-0 Morocco
Group K: Zambia 0-1 Mozambique
Group I: Botswana 0-1. Mauritania
Group J: Niger 0-0 Swaziland
Group K: Guinea-Bissau 1-0 Namibia
The Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT) has kicked off a European promotional tour themed “Morocco, Land of Football” to boost the country’s visibility ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The roadshow, which began on June 16 and runs through June 23, is making stops in five key European cities: Madrid, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Milan.
According to a press release, the initiative is designed to enhance Morocco’s international profile through a blend of sports and cultural promotion, as the kingdom prepares to host the continent’s premier football tournament.
“Morocco is preparing to welcome Africa. Through this roadshow, we aim to tell a collective story of a country oriented towards the future, proud of its roots, and passionate about football,” said Achraf Fayda, Director General of ONMT.
The roadshow stems from a strategic partnership signed in April between the ONMT and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), with the shared goal of positioning Morocco as a leading global destination for both football and tourism by 2030.
At each stop, the tour is expected to engage over 100 travel agents, tour operators, media professionals, and African tourism experts. Participants are treated to immersive, multisensory experiences that highlight Morocco’s tourism offerings, while also facilitating networking with sports personalities.
The campaign targets travel professionals, sports industry stakeholders, and digital content creators as part of ONMT’s broader strategy to leverage AFCON 2025 for tourism development and international branding.
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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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