AFCON
Where Legends Live Forever: Inside Morocco’s New Football Museum
By KUNLE SOLAJA, Rabat, Morocco
In Maâmoura, just outside Rabat, the spirit of Moroccan football now has a permanent home.
Nestled within the same grounds that host FIFA’s Regional Office for Africa and the state-of-the-art Mohammed VI Football Complex, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has unveiled a national museum.
The experience at the Moroccan Football Museum is captivating.
It feels less like a building and more like a living, breathing chronicle of the game.
Stepping inside is like opening a storybook written in green, red, and white. These are the colours of a kingdom.
This kingdom has always seen football as more than just a pastime.
Here, history is not simply preserved, it is staged with drama and reverence, each exhibit designed to remind visitors that Morocco’s passion for the game has shaped its identity for more than a century.
The museum, inaugurated in March 2024 after three years of meticulous work, is the brainchild of the FRMF president Fouzi Lekjaa. Beyond football, he is Morocco’s Minister Delegate for the Budget.
Fouzi Lekjaa whose brainchild is the football museum
To bring his vision of a football museum to life, Lekjaa assembled a scientific committee of 22 renowned researchers and journalists, ensuring that the narrative of Moroccan football would be told with both precision and poetry.
“It is a project for generations,” explained deputy curator Oumay Walid, her voice carrying equal parts pride and responsibility as she guided guests past glittering trophies and fragile black-and-white photographs.
Deputy curator Oumay Walid, explains what the football museum is all about
The architecture itself feels like part of the exhibition. It includes 1,350 square metres of permanent display space and a 310-square-metre gallery for temporary shows. There is also an intimate 42-seat projection hall, VIP lounges, and a documentation centre.
Even the museum store, lined with Moroccan football apparel, speaks to a modern vision where sport and culture are intertwined with commerce.
But it is within the thematic journey of the museum that the soul of Moroccan football truly unfolds. Six distinct zones map out a century of triumphs and trials.
The opening section, The Royal Vision, pays tribute to King Mohammed VI and his predecessors, who elevated football to a pillar of national identity.
From there, The Pioneers transports visitors back to Morocco’s earliest victories and the figures who first carried the Atlas Lions’ roar beyond their borders.
The museum captures the past and presents the present.
The mood shifts in The Land of Excellence, where shimmering displays celebrate national and club successes from the 1950s to the present day.
It is a room heavy with pride, charting the ascent that culminated in Morocco’s historic World Cup semi-final run in Qatar 2022.
The Hall of Fame is a quieter, more intimate space, yet perhaps the most emotional: a gallery of players, coaches, administrators, and even fans whose devotion shaped the narrative of Moroccan football.
Nearby, Prestigious Moments relives the tournaments hosted on Moroccan soil, the international stars who graced its stadiums, and the milestones that confirmed Morocco’s place on the global stage.
Finally, Objects of Memory anchors the entire experience. Behind glass, battered leather footballs, scuffed boots, and sepia-toned match programmes whisper of sweat-soaked afternoons and nights when an entire nation held its breath.
Past national trophies are well preserved in encased glass shelves.
Enormous audiovisual screens loom above, replaying goals that once made the streets erupt in song.
What makes the museum compelling is not only what it displays but what it represents. Since 1906, football in Morocco has been more than a game; it has been a mirror of society, a theatre of dreams, and a unifier across generations.
By curating this legacy with such care, Morocco positions itself as Africa’s custodian of football heritage—a country determined to show the continent that football is both memory and future, emotion and enterprise.
As visitors step back into the Rabat sunlight, the symbolism is impossible to miss.
Morocco may be Africa’s top-ranked footballing nation, but here it proclaims something greater: it is a Kingdom of Light, illuminating the way football can inspire, educate, and even fuel economies.
The national museum is not simply a monument to the past—it is a beacon for the continent’s footballing future.
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AFCON
Nigerians, other nationals can apply, as CAF and Morocco Launch Volunteer Programme for AFCON 2025
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) in Morocco have launched the official Volunteer Programme for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025, billed to run from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026.
According to CAF, more than 4,000 volunteers will be recruited to play a central role in ensuring the success of Africa’s most prestigious football tournament, which will be staged across six cities and nine stadiums in Morocco.
Applications are now open at volunteers.cafonline.com and will close on 8 October 2025. The opportunity is open to anyone above the age of 18.
Volunteers will be deployed across multiple functional areas, including media operations, spectator services, accreditation, hospitality, and fan engagement. Selected individuals will receive professional training ahead of the competition and work behind the scenes to deliver a memorable AFCON.
CAF stated that the programme is designed not only to support tournament operations but also to create an alumni network of skilled Africans who can contribute to future sporting events across the continent. Successful applicants will benefit from:
- Training and skill development.
- Official uniforms and certificates of participation.
- Networking opportunities with peers and professionals.
- The chance to contribute to Africa’s football legacy.
Volunteer registration opened on 17 September 2025. Selection and training will take place in October and November, with operations commencing in mid-December through to the tournament’s conclusion on 18 January 2026.
CAF described the initiative as an “exciting opportunity” for Africans to contribute to the growth of the continent’s flagship sporting event, which is expected to draw millions of visitors to Morocco.
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AFCON
CAF Security Chief, Nigeria’s Emeruwa, Leads Inspection of Tangier Stadium Ahead of Major Tournaments
Nigeria’s Dr. Christian Emeruwa, President of the Security and Safety Division of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), on Thursday, September 18, led an inspection visit to the Grand Stade de Tangier as preparations intensify for upcoming continental and global football events.
Emeruwa, who heads CAF’s continental security architecture, was joined by CAF Secretary General Véron Mosengo-Omba, senior Moroccan officials, and executives of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF).
The delegation also included managers of operational companies at the Grand Stade and SONARGES executives.
According to Le 360, the Nigerian official expressed satisfaction with the stadium’s facilities after touring key operational areas, including the main control room with its giant surveillance screen, as well as spectator, player, and VIP access zones.
The inspection was bolstered by the presence of Morocco’s top security and administrative officers—the regional commander of the Royal Gendarmerie, officials of the Auxiliary Forces and Civil Protection, the Wali of Security, the governor in charge of Internal Affairs, and representatives of the National Agency for Public Equipment (ANEP).
A technical meeting followed the tour, where engineers presented recent safety and security upgrades. Among the highlights was the planned installation of a FIFA-standard tarpaulin roof to enhance the venue’s compliance with global hosting requirements.
For Nigeria, the spotlight on Dr. Emeruwa underscores the country’s growing influence in African football administration, particularly in the critical areas of safety and security management for CAF competitions.
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Morocco has received 723 high-end buses from Chinese manufacturer Yutong as part of preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which kicks off on December 21.
Yutong said on social media that the fleet “has officially rolled off the production line” and will provide “comprehensive transport services and reliable operational support” during the tournament.
An official handover ceremony was held on Friday at the company’s facility in Zhengzhou, Henan province, attended by Moroccan representatives and Yutong executives.
The buses were designed to cope with Morocco’s terrain and climate, including steep slopes, heat and sandstorms. They feature an independent front axle suspension to navigate narrow city streets and Yutong’s in-house “Blue Core System” for fuel efficiency.
The delivery is the largest single order of Chinese buses in Africa. Yutong will station more than 100 technicians in Morocco to provide training, maintenance and round-the-clock support during AFCON.
The deal is part of Morocco’s broader transport strategy, which includes plans to purchase 7,000 new buses by 2030—half of them electric—as the country prepares to co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.
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