AFCON
Ahead of Final Draw: Africa Cup of Nations in Numbers
Ahead of the draw for the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 that will be staged in Rabat on January 27, we round up the numbers on the continent’s greatest footballing show.
0 – There will be no debut nation at these finals in Morocco. All 24 teams have competed at least once before in the continental showpiece, though Botswana and Comoros will be making a second appearance.
1 – Former Zambia goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene is the only gloveman to score at the AFCON when he netted a penalty in a 1-1 pool stage draw with Nigeria in 2013. Zambia were defending champions but could not hold onto their crown.
2 – Ex-Egypt striker Hassan El-Shazly holds the record for most hattricks at the AFCON after he scored two – one in 1963 and another in 1970.
3 – Two coaches have lifted the AFCON trophy three times. Ghana’s Charles Gyamfi and Hassan Shehata, who won three in a row between 2006 and 2010.
3 – Egypt are the only nation to lift the AFCON trophy three tournaments in a row when they were champions in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
5 – Laurent Pokou holds the record for the most goals scored in a single AFCON match when he netted five times for Cote d’Ivoire in a 6-1 victory over Ethiopia in 1970.
6 – Four players have managed to score in six different finals tournaments – Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon, above), Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia), Andre Ayew (Ghana) and Asamoah Gyan (Ghana).
7 – Egypt have won the AFCON title the most times with seven victories. They have also claimed three silver medals and three bronze, so have 13 medals in total. Nigeria actually have the most medals overall with three gold, five silver and eight bronze for a total of 16.
8 – Ex-Cameroon defender Rigobert Song, former Egypt star Ahmed Hassan, Ghana striker Andre Ayew and Tunisian forward Youssef Msakni hold the record for the most AFCON tournament appearances as a player with eight each.
9 – Former Zaire (now DR Congo) forward Ndaye Mulamba holds the record for the most goals in a single AFCON finals when he netted nine in 1974 to lead his side to the title.
9 – Frenchman Claude Leroy holds the record for most tournaments as a coach having led teams at nine separate AFCON between 1986 and 2017. He took six different teams to the finals in all – Cameroon (twice), Senegal (twice), Ghana, DR Congo (twice), Congo-Brazzaville and Togo.
12 – Twelve of the previous 34 host nations have lifted the AFCON trophy on home soil. Cote d’Ivoire managed it at the 2023 finals, the first time a host had won since Egypt in 2006.
16 – The youngest player to appear at the AFCON finals was Shiva N’Zigou, who was 16 years and 93 days when he played for Gabon in a group stage match against South Africa in 2000.
17 – Tunisia hold the record for the most consecutive AFCON finals appearances. Morocco 2025 will be their 17th in a row.
18 – Former Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o holds the record for most goals at the AFCON finals with 18 from 29 matches across six tournaments between 2000 and 2010.
26 – Egypt have appeared at the most finals, 26, one more than Cote d’Ivoire, who are next on the list, with Ghana in third on 24 appearances. The latter will not be in Morocco this time round.
44 – The oldest player to appear at the AFCON was ex-Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary (above), who was 44 years and 21 days old when he played against Cameroon in 2017.
44 – The number of African nations out of 54 who have qualified for the finals in the past. Only Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Lesotho, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Somalia and South Sudan have never appeared.
111 – Egypt have played the most games at the AFCON finals. Cote d’Ivoire (106), Ghana (105) and Nigeria (104) are the other nations to have played over a century of games. Egypt also hold the records for games won (60) and goals scored (175).
119 – The 2023 finals holds the record for most goals scored at 119, smashing the previous record of 102 in 2019. Both those tournaments featured 24 teams. The finals with the most goals on average per game was in 1962 (4.50 per game) and the least in 1988 (1.44).
1957 – The first AFCON finals was played in 1957 and contained only three teams – Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.
-CAF
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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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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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