AFCON
Who Will Pay The Penalty As AFCON Knock-out Stage Beckons? –
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The Africa Cup of Nations is now approaching the fast lane with zero tolerance for failure. With the contestants pruned to 16 when the next stage begins on Saturday, which ever team that fails heads straight to the border controllers and depart Cote d’Ivoire.
There is also no room for drawn games. Therefore what will going through the minds of the remaining 16 managers are a myriad of thoughts.
They have to think first about their respective teams. There will be thought on selection of the starting 11. Thoughts on their opponents, the tactics and fitness level. Even the weather is being scrutinised by men chosen to mastermind their country’s success.
But if previous Africa Cup of Nations finals are any guide, there is one training practice, which will be just as decisive. It is how to strike the ball from 12 yards. Since Didier Drogba lost a vital kick during the penalty shoot-out against Egypt in the final game of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, several other celebrated players have equally failed to convert penalty kicks.
Inability to strike well from the penalty spot caused Nigeria the title in Lagos 24 years ago.
It is a common occurrence even at the summit of world football. Great players, namely, Zico (1986), Maradona (1990), Roberto Baggio (1994) and Lionel Messi (2022) have fumbled at what appears the cheapest goal to be scored in football.
When Messi missed a penalty kick in a Qatar 2022 World Cup match of Argentina versus Poland, his tally got to four in his international career and a combined tally of 31 for club and country.
Austin Jay Jay Okocha (c) and Tijani Babangida try to console Nwankwo Kanu whose penalty kick loss put Cameroon at advantage to deny Nigeria the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000.
Penalties have become part and parcel of many tournaments that I have attended.
In 1990, my first World Cup attendance, both semi final matches were decided on spot kicks, while the final match itself was prevented from ending up the same way. Ironically, it was still decided by a penalty kick, five minutes from regulation time.
What was avoided in the 1990 final had to come four years later. Brazil out shot Italy to claim the World Cup title for a fourth time.
At France’98, the hosts had to depend on penalty shootout to get off from an hectic quarter final duel with Italy, before eventually winning the trophy on home soil with their ‘multi- national’ squad. The 2006 World Cup final was decided by penalty shoot-out.
From the on-going, it is clear that teams must have learnt to include penalty kick taking in their training schedule as the Afcon 2023 gets to the knock-out stage. Four of the last eight final matches of the Africa Cup of Nations were decided on penalties.
Penalty kicks have played crucial roles in shaping the champions in 14 of the last 21 championships since Libya’82 that was the first to be decided by penalty shoot-out. Big names in the continent – Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Ikpeba, Samuel Eto’o, and Didier Drogba among others – have missed from the penalty spots.
In Nigeria’s march to victory in 1994, penalty kicks played crucial roles. The Super Eagles had to survive the ordeal of penalty shoot-out with Cote d’Ivoire in the semi finals. It is on record that penalty kicks played crucial roles in shaping Nigeria’s destiny in 2010, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1994, 1988 and 1984. A total of eight in Nigeria’s last 14 appearances at the finals.
In 1984, Nigeria survived a lengthy penalty shoot-out against Egypt in the semi final, after scoring a goal from the penalty spot during regulation time. In 1988, it was the same tale, this time against Algeria in the semi finals. A penalty kick award to Cameroon eventually decided Nigeria’s fate in the Maroc’88 final.
Apart from 2000 in Lagos when Cameroon lifted the trophy through a penalty shoot –out, loss of a penalty in the extra time against Senegal decided the Super Eagles fate in the 2002 semi finals.
Nigeria again crashed out of 2004 finals via penalty shoot out!
Penalty kicks also proved decisive for other African teams in the Africa Cup of Nations. Cameroon, Tunisia and Cote d’Ivoire lost vital matches via penalty shoot-out at 2006 Africa Cup of Nation Cup.
The keepers who saved the kicks were the heroes, while the outfield players whose kicks missed the targets were the villains. It is obvious that those dramas will once more unfold as Cote d’Ivoire 2023 gets to the knock-out stage.
But who will be jumping and which player will bent double in tears? Italy’s Antonio Cabrini wrote his name into the World Cup record books as the first player to miss a penalty in the final. He looked dejected after his 25th minute spot kick went wide.
Penalty kicks, especially the shoot-outs, are made for television. They are fast, exciting while being a fairer means of tie-breaking than the toss of a coin. But the Italians will not like to believe this after the Azzuris lost the USA’94 World Cup final through penalty shoot-out and had gone out through the same process at home in the Italia’90 World Cup semi final.
They again crashed out of France’98 through penalty kicks. But for the extra time goal with which the Koreans defeated them in 2002 in the Round of 16, one will have to go back 20 years (Mexico’86) to get the last time the Italians lost a knock-out match in the World Cup without resorting to penalties.
Their prayers were answered at Germany 2006 when they beat France in the final via penalty shoot-out. It is only ones prayer that Jose Peseiro add penalty kick session to the training of the Super Eagles.
Litany of penalty kicks at the Africa Cup of Nations
- 1982– Penalty shoot-out decided the final match of Ghana and Libya.
- 1984– Penalty shoot-out took Nigeria to the final.
- 1986– Penalty shoot-out decided the final match of Egypt and Cameroon.
- 1988– Penalty shoot-out propelled Nigeria to the final. Penalty for Cameroon decided Nigeria’s fate in the final.
- 1992– Penalty shoot-out decided the final match of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
- 1994 – Penalty shoot-out played crucial role in Nigeria’s march to the final, beating Cote d’Ivoire 4-2 at the semi-finals.
- 2000– Penalty shoot-out decided Nigeria’s fate and the final match with Cameroon.
- 2002 – Penalty loss against Senegal in the semi-finals decided Nigeria’s fate. Final match of Cameroon and Senegal decided by penalties.
- 2004– Penalty shoot-out decided Nigeria’s fate in the semi finals as Tunisia had a 5-3
- 2006 – Nigeria involved in penalty shoot-out in the quarter finals. Final match of Egypt and Cote d’Ivoire also decided on penalties.
- 2010 – Nigeria profited from penalty shoot-out, beating Zambia 5-4 in the quarter finals.
- 2012 – Quarter-finals match of Gabon and Mali was decided by penalties. The final match of Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire was also decided by penalties.
- 2013– Quarter finals duel of South Africa and Mali as well as the semi-finals of Burkina Faso and Ghana were decided by penalty shoot-out.
- 2015– The third place duel of DR Congo and Equatorial Guinea and the final match of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana were decided by penalties.
- 2017 – Quarter final match of Senegal and Cameroon and the semi finals of Burkina Faso and Egypt were penalty kicks decided.
- 2019– Three Round of 16 matches (Morocco v Benin, Madagascar v DR Congo and Ghana v Tunisia) as well as the quarter-final of Cote d’Ivoire and Algeria were decided by penalty shoot-out.
- 2021 – Again, three Round of 16 matches were decided by penalty shoot-out (Burkina Faso v Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire v Egypt and Mali v Equatorial Guinea) as well as the semi-final match of Egypt and Cameroon and the final match of Senegal and Egypt were decided by penalty shoot-out.
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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