AFCON
SOUTH AFRICA BANKS ON BENEFIT OF NEUTRAL GROUND TO ESCAPE AFCON OUSTER
It promises to be the fiercest battle that the South Africa’s Bafana Bafana will fight in recent time. The initial trail blazers in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Group E qualifiers suddenly found themselves struggling for survival on the last match day.
The South Africans were off to a good start getting all points in their away duel with Nigeria which also translated to their first ever competitive victory over the domineering Super Eagles.
Bafana Bafana soon went into coma, turning into a laborious outfit and escaped with a goalless draw against Libya on match day two. The Super Eagles on the other hand bounced back with an away 3-0 defeat of Seychelles, the same team that South Africa could only manage a goalless draw with.
South Africa’s lifeline in Sunday’s encounter with Libya was the annulment of goals scored by the Super Eagles in their encounter last November.
It is the encounter that gave a point advantage over Libya. But the Libyans are handicapped. They play their home matches in Tunisia. This is what South Africa hope to exploit.
Sunday’s African Nations Cup showdown against Libya marks the third time Bafana Bafana have had the good fortune of playing a key away qualifier on a neutral venue.
Bafana were successful on the two previous occasions. The last Group E qualifier for South Africa in the 2019 African Nations Cup preliminaries is being played in Sfax‚ Tunisia‚ because of the tenuous security situation in Libya‚ who have not been allowed to play any internationals at home for more than a decade.
Libya need to win the match and ordinarily would look to use home advantage in Tripoli to maximum benefit‚ with an intimidating and hostile crowd to shake up the visitors.
But Sunday’s match at the Stade Taieb El Mniri is likely to have a modest crowd with almost all the edge taken off from the stands.
It was also the case in April‚ 1997 when Bafana happily skipped a trip to Kinshasa and again in 2013 when the conflict in the Central African Republic also sent South Africa to a neutral venue.
In the 1998 World Cup qualifiers‚ Bafana were tenuously placed with a win‚ draw and loss after their first three Group C qualifiers against Zaire‚ Zambia and Congo-Brazzaville.
The game against the Congolese was the infamous battle of Pointe Noire when guns were stuck in the ribs of South African officials and the players kicked to bits in a game that was lost 2-0.
Clive Barker’s team then faced having to go to an even more hostile environment to Kinshasa to meet Zaire‚ who were also desperately looking for points.
But in Zaire‚ Laurent Kabila’s rebel army had made significant advances in their bid to oust the Mobutu Sese Seko regime and were marching towards Kinshasa‚ with an imminent battle for the capital forcing FIFA to change the venue of the game.
It was moved to Lome in Togo where Barker famously dropped Neil Tovey as skipper and installed Lucas Radebe and South Africa won the game with Doctor Khumalo at his best‚ scoring first and then providing the cross for Phil Masinga to head home the winner in a 2-1 victory.
It was the last game for Zaire‚ after which Kabila overthrew Mobutu and changed the name of the country to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Bafana would go on to beat Zambia and Congo Brazzaville at Soccer City‚ winning their last three qualifiers to book their place at the World Cup in France.
In 2013‚ South Africa’s World Cup hopes were already in peril after draws against Ethiopia‚ after which Pitso Mosimane was fired‚ and then Botswana.
New coach Gordon Igesund won the home qualifier against the Central African Republic in Cape Town but had to keep winning the rest.
The reverse fixture against the Central African Republic in June 2013 was moved from Bangui‚ because of rebel fighting and the massacre of SANDF troops‚ who were in the country in a peacekeeping role in the country‚ saw the match moved by FIFA to Yaounde in Cameroon.
There South Africa won 3-0 to keep alive their hoops‚ only to lose the next game in Addis Ababa to Ethiopia and be embarrassingly eliminated from the race for the 2014 finals in Brazil‚ having just hosted the previous World Cup.
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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