Morocco no longer continental pariah as Afcon showcases its global standing
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Osasu Obayiuwana in Casablanca Sat, 27 December 2025 at 8:00 am UTC·5 min read It is hard to conceive that Morocco, now the nerve centre for staging Africa’s marquee football events, was a continental pariah 10 years ago. Abruptly pulling out of hosting the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, over fears it would lead to the spread of the Ebola virus in the kingdom, forced the Confederation of African Football to move the tournament to Equatorial Guinea, with less than 90 days to prepare for its staging.Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Hicham El Amrani, the Moroccan who was then Caf’s general secretary, it was a tough period. “The pressure I was under can only be imagined, as I was...