AFCON
Twelve Lessons from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 in Morocco
By Victor Oladokun
Like millions of football fans who descended on Morocco for the African Cup of Nations final here in Rabat, and hundreds of millions more who watched globally, this has been an amazing tournament.
The football infrastructure here has been absolutely world-class. The quality, efficiency, and cost of the train services are as good as, if not better than, some of the best in the world. Moroccan hospitality before, during and after the tournament has been exceptional.
Significant improvements, though still need to be made in the overall quality of hotels and customer service, more so ahead of the soon-to-be jointly hosted 2030 #FIFAWorldCup to be held in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. I am confident Morocco will pull it off.
For now, here are 12 takeaways, based on my up-close observations.
1. #SENEGAL: While understandably frustrated by very poor officiating, walking off the pitch in protest risked match abandonment and damaged Africa’s global football image. It was a terrible call by the Senegalese coach that did not honour host country Morocco, the continent, #CAF or #FIFA. Thank God that #SadioMane had the presence of mind to stand his ground and convince his Senegalese teammates to return to the field and fight as men.
2. #MOROCCO: Ahead of all CAF and FIFA sanctioned football events, Morocco must prioritize a more robust stadium security system to contain fan anger and prevent escalations from erupting into full blown riots when decisions go against the home team. It was unacceptable to see Moroccan stadium officials and players (Hakimi and others included) deliberately throw away the towel of the Senegalese goalkeeper (which is needed to wipe down gloves during play). The same antic was used against Nigeria, including a racist slur by a Moroccan fan who threw a banana at Nigerian goalkeeper #Nwabali. These antics were juvenile, unnecessary, and highly provocative. It really took a shine off of the exceptional and kind hospitality that Moroccans always go out of their way to extend to foreigners. (Topic for another time).
3. #CAF: Africa’s apex football association, must enhance referee and VAR training to minimize controversial calls in high-stakes moments, and to reduce the likelihood of prolonged disputes and delays. In several of the tournament’s matches, the level of officiating fell well below acceptable international standards. Poor officiating in several matches undermined the credibility of the tournament. Calls were made that should not have been made. Calls were also not made that should have been made. Consequently, the media and fans were justified in their allegations or suspicions of official collusion favoring one team over the other. Whether true or not, is not the issue. Sometimes, perception is reality!
4. #FIFA: should develop clear international protocols for handling team walk-offs, including immediate sanctions to Federations, coaches, and players, to deter similar actions in future tournaments.
5. #SENEGAL: And every other country for that matter, needs a mature level-headed player in the mold of #SadioMane to de-escalate tensions swiftly. Thanks to his leadership, sanity prevailed, a full-blown crisis was avoided, the game resumed, and victory was secured.
6. #MOROCCO: And all other countries, should avoid high-risk penalty techniques like the Panenka in pressure situations, unless the taker is mentally prepared, as Diaz’s tame effort proved costly. The same seemingly laissez faire approach decisively cost #Nigeria its Semi Final match against Morocco when #Chukwueze gifted the Moroccan goalkeeper.
7. #CAF: Implement stricter time limits for VAR reviews to avoid extending stoppage time excessively (e.g. 24 minutes), which fueled frustration and chaos.
8. #FIFA: Promote cross-confederation education on sportsmanship to counter perceptions of African football as chaotic, and to ensure fair play overrides national biases.
9. #MOROCCO: As AFCON hosts, and ahead of the 2030 World Cup, consider this a test-run and invest in enhanced crowd management strategies, including riot police readiness, to safeguard players, officials and fans, during heated matches.
10. #SENEGAL: Protesting soft penalties can backfire. The 16-20 minute delay highlighted poor sportsmanship. Any other referee could have called for a forfeit of the match in favor of Morocco, which would only have added to the shameful drama.
11. #CAF: Enforce post-match reviews of referee decisions to build trust, and address complaints like Senegal’s disallowed goal that preceded the penalty drama.
12. #FIFA: Monitor and advise tournament organizers especially in politically charged situations (for example in matches involving arch rivals Morocco and Algeria) and to prevent external factors, including excessive fan nationalism from escalating on-field disputes.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Victor Oladokun, a Senior Advisor to Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank from 2015 to 2025
By Kunle Solaja, who was in Rabat.
Days before the Sunday night final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, my own pilgrimage took a different route. It is not to a stadium, but to the ancient heart of Rabat, where history rises in stone at the Hassan Tower.
More than 800 years old and still looking as if it were completed yesterday, the Hassan Tower is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, fiercely protected by the Moroccan government. It is a reminder of the kingdom’s rich past, its place in the Islamic world and the enduring importance of preserving cultural heritage even as the nation races toward modernity.
As a brief diversion from the press tribune and the noise of match days, Neo Casablanca, the tour and event planning outfit working with the Moroccan National Association of Media and Publishers (ANME), took a group of international journalists on a cultural excursion to the monument.
The Hassan Tower is not just a landmark; it is an unfinished idea, frozen in time.
Construction began in the late 12th century under Sultan Yaqub al-Mansur of the Almohad dynasty, at a moment when empires expressed power not only through armies, but through architecture. The ambition was breathtaking: a mosque so vast it would rank among the greatest in the Islamic world, crowned by a minaret designed to dominate the skyline of Rabat.
The tower was planned to be the tallest in the world, but has remained uncompleted for 800 years since its inception.
History, however, had other plans. When the sultan died in 1199, the project slowed and eventually stopped.
What remains today is the tall, reddish, uncompleted minaret. It is however, still dignified, still photogenic and still giving Rabat its most recognisable silhouette. In a continent where big dreams are often interrupted by politics, time and tragedy, the tower still stands as a monument to ambition and endurance.
Spread across the vast, long, open, level area are rows of neatly aligned stone columns. They were once intended to support the prayer hall of the great mosque. As a sports reporter, I could not help thinking of stadium architecture, the way concrete and steel frame emotion. The Hassan complex does something similar, except its audience is time. You do not “watch” the Hassan Tower; you feel it.
The stuanted columns were to be built up as pillars inside the mosque
The enclosing walls do more than mark boundaries. They separate everyday city movement from sacred historical ground. Inside, the atmosphere becomes ceremonial. It is a place built for contemplation, and visiting it on the eve of a continental final suddenly makes perfect sense. Football is about identity and memory; so is this ground. A nation’s story is never told only through trophies. It is also told through what it chooses to preserve.
Just beside the tower stands the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, one of Morocco’s most revered national monuments. Its white marble and green-tiled roof contrast beautifully with the tower’s earthy tones. Guards in ceremonial dress stand motionless, like honour guards at a national stadium during an anthem – except here, the anthem is silence.
At each side of the corners of the Mausoleum stands motionless guards in ceremonial dress
Inside lie the royal tombs of King Mohammed V, the father of modern Morocco and the nation’s first king after independence in 1956; his son, King Hassan II, who ruled from 1961 to 1999; and Prince Moulay Abdallah, brother of Hassan II. Fittingly, the magnificent stadium that hosted the AFCON 2025 final is named after Prince Moulay Abdallah, linking Morocco’s sporting present with its historic soul.
Inside the Mausoleum are three tombs made of carara marble. In the centre is that of King Mohammed V, the father of modern Morocco. The two others are those of King Hassan II, who ruled from 1961 to 1999; and Prince Moulay Abdallah, brother of Hassan II.
Encircling the complex are broken perimeter walls. They are not signs of neglect, but scars of history.
In 1755, the catastrophic earthquake that destroyed Lisbon also struck the Atlantic coast of North Africa. Rabat was badly affected. At Hassan Tower, large sections of the mosque collapsed, bringing down arches and roofing structures and permanently crippling the grand project.
Parts of the broken fence od the Hassan Tower.
Modern Morocco chose preservation over reconstruction.
Rather than rebuild the walls and turn the site into a modern replica, the country stabilised and conserved what remained. The broken walls were left intentionally, not as ruins, but as historical testimony and visible reminders of ambition, empire, disaster and endurance.
In that sense, Hassan Tower tells a story very similar to football history:
great plans imagined, glory pursued, fate intervening, and yet the legacy still standing tall.
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By Kunle Solaja, Casablanca.
Morocco’s flawless organisation of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 has sent a powerful message to the global sporting community. It is loud and clear: the Kingdom is not only ready to co-host the FIFA World Cup in 2030 with Spain and Portugal, but is equally capable of staging the Olympic Games.
From immaculate stadiums to seamless transport links, and from efficient logistics to the warmth and tolerance of its people, AFCON 2025 became a live rehearsal for football’s biggest stage. The verdict is that Morocco passed with distinction.
The Afcon 2025 was a tournament that ran like clockwork despite the drama that clouded Sunday’s final with the 14-minute Senegal’s walk-off protest and the narrow 1–0 extra-time defeat of the hosts.
The tournament itself was delivered without major organisational hitches. The final at Rabat’s Stade Moulay Abdellah drew 66,526 spectators into a stadium built for 69,500.
This underscores Morocco’s capacity to manage large, emotionally charged crowds with professionalism and restraint.
The riotous acts of the Senegalese fans would have been met with iron-fist crushing by security men in other climes. But the professionalism of the Moroccan security outfits was at its best.
Little wonder, in the course of the tournament, a high-level delegation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States visited Morocco to review security systems used during AFCON 2025. The team checked crowd control, access points, drone monitoring, cameras, and coordination between security units.
This is yet another indication that the world has a lot to learn from Morocco.
Across the country, the six host cities offered modern facilities, efficient security coordination and a festival-like atmosphere that blended football passion with Moroccan hospitality. Visiting teams, officials, journalists and fans consistently praised the ease of movement, clarity of accreditation systems and the friendliness of volunteers.
World-Class Stadiums, World-Class Vision
Five of the six stadiums earmarked for the 2030 World Cup were already in use during AFCON 2025. The Grande Stade in Tangier, which is officially known as Ibn Battouta Stadium, with its 75,000 capacity, stands as a striking symbol of Morocco’s ambition. Located in the northern coastal city, it sits less than an hour by ferry from Spain, perfectly illustrating the geographic logic of a tri-continental World Cup.
Venues in Agadir, Fes and Marrakech proved more than adequate for top-level international football and are scheduled for further renovation and expansion ahead of 2030.
The centrepiece of Morocco’s long-term vision, however, is the proposed 115,000-capacity Stade Hassan II on the outskirts of Casablanca.
This is a mega-arena Morocco hopes will host the 2030 World Cup final, rivalling Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu not just in size, but in symbolism.
In total, Morocco plans to invest about $1.4 billion in its six World Cup stadiums.
Transport, Tourism and a Tested Infrastructure
AFCON 2025 highlighted Morocco’s biggest non-football strength: infrastructure readiness. Ten Moroccan cities already enjoy direct air links to Europe, supported by a growing network of budget airlines that make travel to the Kingdom affordable and frequent.
Africa’s only high-speed rail service, the Al Boraq, currently connects Tangier to Casablanca in about three hours. It was gathered that plans are underway to extend the line southwards to Marrakech and Agadir, creating a spine of rapid movement that would be invaluable for a World Cup and even more so for an Olympic Games spread across multiple clusters.
The tourism infrastructure, refined over decades, absorbed the influx of fans with ease. Hotels, riads, transport operators and local guides operated in sync, reflecting a country well-versed in hosting global visitors.
A Tolerant, Welcoming Society
Perhaps Morocco’s strongest asset lies beyond bricks and mortar. Throughout AFCON 2025, fans from across Africa mingled freely in stadiums, fan zones, cafés and city squares. Cultural, religious and linguistic differences were accommodated with ease, reinforcing Morocco’s image as a tolerant, open society at the crossroads of Africa, Europe and the Arab world.
This social cohesion was not accidental. It reflects a long-standing national ethos encouraged from the highest level of the state, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, who has repeatedly emphasised youth development, sport, cultural dialogue and international openness.
The royal reception of the Atlas Lions by Prince Moulay Rachid after the final further reinforced how sport is embedded within Morocco’s broader nation-building strategy.
Balancing Ambition with Social Expectations
Yet Morocco’s ambition is not without internal challenges. Youth-led unrest last September exposed frustrations over poverty, healthcare and education, with protesters questioning the scale of spending on stadiums amid social needs.
The authorities face the delicate task of maintaining momentum on infrastructure development while ensuring that economic growth translates into tangible benefits for ordinary citizens. Official statistics show poverty has been cut almost in half in recent years, but public expectations remain high.
Importantly, AFCON 2025 demonstrated that Morocco can manage security, dissent and mass gatherings without undermining its international image. This is a crucial factor for any World Cup or Olympic host.
Sporting Credibility on the Global Stage
On the pitch, Morocco’s recent footballing history adds credibility to its hosting ambitions. The Atlas Lions’ historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was the first by an African nation. This has reshaped global perceptions of African football.
Although their AFCON title drought continues, the organisational success of AFCON 2025 showed that Morocco’s football ecosystem, including administration, infrastructure and fan culture, is already operating at elite global standards.
AFCON 2025 was more than a continental tournament; it was a statement of intent. Morocco demonstrated that it can host a complex, multi-city sporting event with efficiency, dignity and warmth.
If the Africa Cup of Nations was the rehearsal, then Morocco has convincingly shown it is ready for the World Cup and, one day, the Olympic Games, not just as a host, but as a welcoming crossroads where sport, culture and tolerance meet.
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Morocco will pursue legal action over the outcome of Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final, where opponents Senegal walked off the field to protest a penalty awarded against them but later returned to win the match.
Morocco were beaten 1-0 after extra time by Senegal in the decider in Rabat, but the hosts had a chance to win the trophy with a last-gasp penalty at the end of regulation time.
Senegalese players stormed off in protest after a VAR decision to hand Morocco a spot kick for a tug on the shoulder of striker Brahim Diaz, who then squandered the kick after having to wait some 14 minutes before the Senegal side returned.
“The Royal Moroccan Football Federation announces that it will pursue legal action with the Confederation of African Football and FIFA to rule on the walk-off of the Senegalese national team from the field during the final against the Moroccan national team, as well as on the events surrounding this decision, following the referee’s awarding of a penalty that was deemed correct by all experts,” a statement said.
“This situation had a significant impact on the normal course of the match and on the players’ performance,” it added.
It is unclear what Morocco wants to achieve with their complaint, other than being seen to formally remonstrate over the outcome of the match.
Earlier on Monday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and CAF condemned the behaviour of Senegal players and members of the coaching staff after the chaotic scenes, saying violence and walk-offs had no place in football.
“We also witnessed unacceptable scenes on the field and in the stands – we strongly condemn the behaviour of some ‘supporters’ as well as some Senegalese players and technical staff members,” Infantino said.
“It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner and, equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport; it is simply not right.
“We must always respect the decisions taken by the match officials on and off the field of play. Teams must compete on the pitch and within the Laws of the Game, because anything less puts the very essence of football at risk.”
CAF said it was reviewing footage and that disciplinary proceedings will follow, adding that it “condemns the unacceptable behaviour from some players and officials”.
-Reuters
CAF Africa Cup of Nations – Morocco 2025 – Final – Senegal v Morocco – Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco – January 18, 2026 Senegal fans react in the stand after Morocco were awarded a penalty following a VAR review REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY.
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