Has yet to really capture the imagination in Morocco – on and off the field

Host nation Morocco are expected to win the tournament by home fans but so far there has not been too much joy at AFCON 2025
“From the edge of the Marrakech medina and the marvellously faded rooftop bar of the Grand Hotel Tazi, where the raffish furnishings have barely changed since the place was opened in the 1920s, the sound wafted through the cafes and restaurants that line the street leading to the city’s famously mad trading square, the Jemaa el-Fnaa. I had broken away from the tournament temporarily while Morocco played Zambia in Rabat, around 300km (200 miles) away, on Monday but I knew the host nation of the 2024-25 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) had scored again because of clattering tables and a din in the middle distance. There must have been a tiny delay in the coverage, because the celebrations that marked Morocco’s second goal of a 3-0 win arrived in stages. Eventually, they got to Cafe Roxe, rammed with men smoking cigarettes and drinking mint tea. Cue: pandemonium. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
YouTube: The Hidden People of Morocco- what they don’t show you, Ait-Ben-Haddou, Morocco [Amazing Places 4K], Explore Morocco’s Timeless Symbol of Heritage: Aït Benhaddou

The crowd was sparse at the fan zone for Algeria’s game against Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday