About the Almountakhab Moroccan newspaper – written by Badr Al-Din Al-Idrissi
Certainly, I will never doubt the credibility of the justifications provided by CAF President Patrice Motsepe for the many compromises that affected the announcement of the final dates for the 35th edition of the African Cup of Nations, which Morocco had the honor of organizing, and it is more ambitious to match the expectations of Africans, by organizing an ideal and unprecedented edition, which rises again. African heads amidst the witnesses.
There is no need, then, to prolong the censure of the scene of confusion, for the CAF is a broken house, and repair requires a definite amount of time that requires a great deal of patience, and the CAF to this day is a short wall, which others do not care about, and lengthening the wall and nails requires more audacity and courage to break the habit of bending, but I have Within the framework of what Motsepe called the consensuses, CAF created an unprecedented history for the African Cup of Nations that belongs to Morocco, after being absent from it for nearly 37 years. Like all Moroccans, I find myself wondering how positive and negative this timing is, which will make the lifespan of the 35th edition extended for two years.
To determine the extent of what is positive and what is negative, in organizing the Morocco edition between December 21, 2025 and January 18, 2026, a distinction must be made between what is sporting and what is strategic in Morocco’s organization of the continental World Cup, five years or less before it is organized with Spain and Portugal for the World Cup, and Morocco’s goal is Of course, to make all of Africa happy with a continental cup that matches the beauty of production and workmanship to the European Cup of Nations, and from the womb of that goal, the highest goal was born, which is for Moroccans to be happy to see their lions lifting this African Cup for the second time after the first, which was 48 years ago today.
Although we were disappointed by the timing that CAF chose for “Morocco”, and it was the only available date for the African Cup to be held in its year, i.e. 2025, after FIFA devoured the summer of 2025, by imposing the updated version of the Club World Cup, if we were frustrated by this remaining window, because Morocco was seeing… In organizing the African World Cup in the summer of 2025, one of the biggest guarantees of organizational and public success, shifting the tournament to the winter of 2025, despite the climatic effects, can help produce a wonderful and technically attractive tournament, given that the players will then be at the peak of their physical fitness, and this is a characteristic that can The Atlas Lions help fulfill the hope of Moroccans, that the African Cup will come to Morocco and not leave it.
Delaying the African Cup of Nations, six months from its expected date, will inevitably help Morocco gain time space, which it will spend on improving the cranes and props, to fulfill the promise. The promise of organizing an African World Cup is not in imagination, but the essence of the dream is hope, that the national team will arrive. For the month of December 2025, that is, after 18 months, and it is fully prepared to immortalize this football version in the memory of Moroccans and history, by winning the title, just as the comprehensive organization Al-Mana will immortalize it in the memory of Africans, to make it an ideal and unprecedented version.
