The ceremony was held in front of nearly full stands with about 60,000 spectators, led by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and African Confederation President Patrice Motsepe, and lasted for about half an hour, reflecting the depth of the Kingdom’s historical and cultural identity from its Berber, Arab and African roots, all the way to its contemporary image.

During which he presented integrated artistic and musical paintings that highlighted the rich Moroccan heritage and its historical connection to the African continent.

The opening ceremony witnessed a remarkable use of the latest audio-visual technologies, in addition to artistic performances that embodied the development of the tournament over the decades, and the spirit of African unity, while evoking the symbolism of the African Cup of Nations and its stars throughout history, in a visual painting that won the admiration of the attendees.

The event included singing performances with the participation of a number of international artists, including Moroccan-American French Montana, Nigerian-American Davido, Moroccan Doaa Al-Yahiaoui, Frenchman Damien Saez, and Moroccan-French artist Artiste.

The ceremony concluded with the display of a huge model of the tournament’s Gold Cup in the middle of the stadium, surrounded by the flags of the participating teams.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in his speech: “Welcome to my country, Morocco, the country of football, passion and peace,” expressing his hope that this edition will be the best in the history of the tournament, and wishing success to the 24 participating teams.

For his part, African Confederation President Patrice Motsepe confirmed that Morocco will present an exceptional edition, noting that the tournament will witness the best players and the highest levels of football on the continent, before announcing the official start of the competitions.

The vicinity of the stadium witnessed a large crowd hours before the opening, in a scene that reflected the great public passion for the tournament, which began with the Moroccan national team facing the Comoros in the first group competitions, which also includes Mali and Zambia.

Morocco will host the continental championship finals for the second time in its history after the 1988 edition, and this time it is counting on the ground staff and the fans to achieve its second title, after its first coronation in 1976, inspired by the experience of Côte d’Ivoire, which won the last title on its soil, in light of the great ambitions of the “Atlas Lions” fans after the completion of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and the (second) team’s victory in the 2025 Arab Cup champion title on Thursday. Al-Madi, in Qatar, by defeating his Jordanian counterpart.

Source: media

Watch.. “Alamy” goal in the 2025 African Cup

The opening match of the finals of the 35th edition of the African Cup of Nations “Morocco 2025”, which brought together the national teams of Morocco and the Comoros (2-0) on Sunday evening, witnessed the scoring of a wonderful goal.

Watch…the first goals of the 2025 African Cup

The Moroccan national team opened the door to scoring goals for the 35th edition of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, which started this Sunday evening in Morocco and will continue until January 18, 2026, during its match against the Comoros.