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In GEN Z terms, the 2025 AFCON continues to deliver remarkable games and coupled with the brilliant infrastructure that stretches beyond the world class stadia, the tournament is giving.
From modern trams, working trains connecting host cities and accommodation facilities provided in great numbers to handle the influx of individuals to Morocco for the competition, the AFCON has been brilliant so far.
Even games that weren’t expected to deliver entertaining and quality performances like that of Gabon’s 3-2 loss to Mozambique, produced very good watchable matchup. With Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria at the time of writing, already booking their place in the Round of 16 stage, the fun is sure to continue.
However, South Africa head coach Hugo Broos’ somewhat damning assessment of the competition in his presser ahead of the Bafana Bafana’s important South African derby against Zimbabwe has thrown cold water on the blazing hot streak of positives for the AFCON.
For a man who is 73 years old and has shown in some instances that he lacks a good handle of matters in the 21st century, the Belgian gave off the feel of a man who is abreast with modern trends and jargons while delivering the statement that is sure to anger many Moroccans.
“There is no AFCON vibe in Morocco” Broos stated at the presser and went on to compare the ambiance in the North Africa country to the ambiance experienced in the 2021 and 2023 AFCON that was held in Cameroon and Cote D’Ivoire respectively.
The use of the jargon “vibe” is as modern and trendy as they come and clearly showed that Broos was indeed working to tweak his old school approach to fit the modern way of seeing things after getting caught up in a racist incident just days before the start of the 2025 AFCON. (Click highlighted text to read full story).
Saying there is no AFCON vibe in a football loving nation as Morocco is a big shock considering the country’s long standing connection to Africa’s premier sport and its corresponding premier competition. Even locally based TV stations are making concerted efforts to envelope the country in the spirit of the AFCON by showing AFCON games and ignoring broadcasting European games.
At hotels where participating nations are stationed, rooms have standout images of players included in the décor to make them feel at home as much as possible. Even with all these steps taken, the AFCON Vibe is still not up to what was experienced in Cameroon and Cote D’Ivoire per Hugo Broos but there is some truth behind his statement and here are three reasons for his “No AFCON Vibe” jab at Morocco.
Hosting Fatigue
There was a time in the NBA, where the two players who are arguably in an exclusive battle for the GOAT title in the league, that is Michael Jordan and LeBron James, dominated the league so much that, voters for the league’s Most Valuable Player Award decided to award someone else simply because they were tired of voting for the same player to win over and over again. That is why Charles Barkley won the award and that is the reason why LeBron James hasn’t won more than four MVP titles in his illustrious career.
Voting Fatigue is a thing in sports and when you have easily the best sports facilities in Africa, Hosting Fatigue is a real thing in Morocco. Since Patrice Motsepe was voted as CAF President, Morocco has been the host destination of several international football tournaments. The country hosted the old format of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2022, hosted the last two Women’s AFCON and will host the competition for the third time in a row in 2026, two CAF Women’s Champions League Elite Stage Championships and a bevy of FIFA World Cup qualifiers and AFCON qualifiers for countries like Sudan, Madagascar and Niger.
Countries like Sudan and Niger can’t host games in their countries presently due to varied reasons such as war or in Niger’s case, the lack of a standard facility to host such international games.
On top of all this, there is this AFCON and while hosting such competitions is great for utilizing facilities, generating income and a great way to market Morocco as a sport tourism and tourism destination in general, hosting too many competitions in a short period of time has worn out the usual giddiness nationals get and show when they host such events.
Cameroon and Gabon don’t host top events as frequently as Morocco; as such, folks in those countries would be more emotionally invested in the AFCON when they host it than your average Moroccan football fan who sees such events pretty much on a yearly basis.
Morocco has its eyes set on the Biggest Prize
Hosting arguably the world’s most competitive, exciting and flat out best continental football tournament, the AFCON, is all well and good but hosting the FIFA World Cup is different gravy and that test is what Morocco is aiming to ace.
The North African nation will co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Portugal and Spain and as the second African nation to host the world’s biggest single sport competition, Morocco is out to pull out all the stops. From all indicators, the 2025 AFCON is nothing but a glorified dress rehearsal for the 2030 World Cup and such narratives have seeped into the psyche of the average Moroccan fan who is only interested in getting the Atlas Lions and the country ready for that big occasion on the pitch and off the pitch.
Morocco making that dream run to the 2022 World Cup semifinals and becoming the first African nation to do so gave Moroccans a certain joy that nothing can get them really super excited about the AFCON bar the Atlas Lions winning the trophy. Unfortunately for AFCON “disciples” like Hugo Broos, “Getting a Vibe-less” AFCON is the price to pay for Africa’s second chance to host the world and it is one Morocco is all too glad to sign up for.
AFCON is paying for the Moroccan Government’s “Sins”
As mentioned prior, the AFCON is a mere curtain raiser for Morocco for the 2030 FIFA World Cup and it so happens that the AFCON is bearing the brunt of all the ills connected to hosting the World Cup. Heavy investment has been made to get Morocco to show that they are indeed ready to host the world come 2030 and that has led to such investment to come at the expense of human lives in Morocco.
To renovate stadia, build new ones, improve rail lines and overall infrastructure ahead of the AFCON and in part, the World Cup, Morocco’s education and employment sectors have taken a major hit and this led to major protests in the country ahead of the AFCON. Two people were killed during these protests with several protestors sustaining injuries from the police crackdown that was condemned by 12 international human rights groups. (Click highlighted text to read full story)
Nothing can replace a human life and per the protestors message in October this year, the actions of the government smacks of exactly that and this was embodied in placards that read “Dignity before Stadiums” during the protests. Whereas the 2030 World Cup is over four years away, the AFCON is taking place mere weeks after the bloody crackdown on such protests took place.
The timing of the protests and the commencement of the AFCON has meant that there hasn’t been enough time for such anger to dissipate and make room for excitement from the local population beyond supporting their national team hence, No AFCON Vibe in Morocco.
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