Morocco was selected to host the 35th edition of Africa’s most prestigious football tournament, the African Cup of Nations finals, in 2025.
The CAF Executive Committee unanimously voted for Morocco to stage the finals for the second time and the first edition in the country since the 1988 edition.
Among the major strengths of the royal kingdom of Morocco are its state-of-the art facilities, with most of its stadia already tested and proven for staging major tournaments such as the FIFA Club World Cup, which was held in February 2023, the AFCON Under 23, which also served as Olympic qualifiers in June, as well as the 2018 Africa Nations Championships and the 2022 CAF Women Champions League.
The country boasts six venues earmarked for the 2025 AFCON that were included in their bid, which are: Casablanca’s Mohammed V Complex (45,000 seats), Rabat’s Moulay Abdellah Complex (53,000), Grand Stade de Marrakech (45,240), Agadir’s Stade Adrar (45,480), Grand Stade de Tanger (45,000), and Grand Stade de Fez (37,000).
1. Mohammed V Complex:
The oldest stadium in Casablanca, Morocco, has a capacity to accommodate 45,000 fans and was inaugurated on March 6, 1955, before being renovated three times in 1981, 2000, 2007, and 2015.
Mohammed V Stadium is built on an area of 12 hectares (12,262 square meters) and is considered a masterpiece of Moroccan sports.
The stadium has a natural grass surface and is the home venue for two of the most successful clubs in Morocco, Raja and Wydad Athletic, both based in Casablanca.
2. Grand Stade de Agadir
It’s a 45,000-seat stadium in Agadir City with a natural grass playing surface that was officially opened in 2013.
It was designated to form part of Morocco’s bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup and is used by Hassania Union Sport.
Early construction works kicked off in 2003, but work progressed slowly and stalled when South Africa got awarded the World Cup instead of Morocco.
It took until 2007 for work to recommence, after which the stadium was scheduled to open in late 2009.
While most of the stands had been built by 2009, work stopped again due to financial difficulties and only progressed slowly in the next few years.
Grand Stade Adrar Agadir was finally completed in early 2013 and officially opened on October 11, 2013 with a match between Hassania and Algerian side Kabylie.
3.Grande Stade de Marrakech
The Grand Stade de Marrakech was built to provide the city of Marrakesh with a new and modern venue to replace the old Stade El Harti.
Construction of Stade de Marrakech started in 2003, and the completed stadium opened seven years later on January 5, 2011.
In 2013 and 2014, Stade de Marrakech was one of the playing venues of the FIFA Club World Cup and hosted the final in both years.
The stadium has a capacity of 45,000 seats and is the home venue for Kawkab AC Marrakech.
4. Complex Sportif Moulay Abdallah
Complexe Sportif Moulay Abdallah opened in 1983, underwent some further renovations in 2000, and is located in Rabat City.
The stadium is part of a larger sports complex that includes an indoor arena and swimming pool. It has been regularly used for matches by the Moroccan international team.
Complexe Sportif Moulay Abdallah was selected as one of the playing venues for the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup, hosting, among others, the two quarter-final matches.
Complexe Sportif Moulay Abdallah is located in the south-west of the city of Rabat, about 8 kilometers from the city center, main railway station, and medina.
The stadium is home to AS FAR de Rabat and Fath Union Sport.
5.The Grand Stade de Tanger
The Grand Stade de Tanger, also known as the Ibn Batouta Stadium, is a football and track stadium located in the city of Tangier, Northern Morocco.
It is home to the football team Ittihad Tanger, which has a capacity of 65,000 people.
The construction of the stadium began in 2002, took nine years to complete, and has a natural grass playing surface.
6.Grande Stade de Fez
The stadium is located in Fez City and has a capacity to host 45,000 people. It has a natural grass playing surface and was opened in 2007.
It is the home stadium for Wydad de Fez and Magreb de Fez.eb de Fez .
Besides the six venues assigned for the 2025 AFCON tournaments, the country also boasts of sufficient training venues for national teams during the month-long competition, among them being the Mohammed VI Sports Complex, which was constructed for 16.8 million dollars and inaugurated in 2019 on a 29-hectare piece of land in the heart of Sale city, north-west of Rabat city.
It features four natural grass football fields; three artificial turf football fields; a covered football pitch; a hybrid football field; a re-training room that can host futsal matches; an outdoor Olympic-sized pool; two tennis courts; and a beach soccer field.
The complex also includes a new-generation sports and performance medicine center that meets FIFA standards in the field and has physiotherapy, stress testing, dentistry, ophthalmology, trauma, psychology, podiatry, nutritional medicine, radiology, ultrasound, electrotherapy, bone densitometry, and cryotherapy, in addition to an emergency mobile medical unit.
It can accommodate the national team A (66 rooms and 4 suites), the U23 and U17 teams, respectively, with a 150-bed capacity and an 80-bed capacity, as well as goalkeepers (54 rooms).
The hospitality industry in Morocco is a combination of domestic independent hotels and international hotels and their brand chains.
Morocco is served with good and smooth road network ,two international airports in Rabat and Casablanca and speed trains which facilitates transportation from one city to another.
Coupled with historical performance of the Atlas Lions, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar where they finished 4th becoming the 1st African nation to achieve the fete, Morocco is prepared to stage a memorable tournament.
