(SenePlus) – The controversial decision to award the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) to Morocco is causing a stir far beyond the playing field. Decoded in an article published in Libération by journalists Pierre Boitel and Antoine Galindo, this decision by the African Football Confederation (CAF) is fueling continental passions. It sheds light on two major geopolitical dynamics: the growing fear of Moroccan dominance and Algeria’s ambush strategy ready to take advantage of any opportunity.
In the kingdom, the trophy’s acquisition did not trigger popular euphoria, with the Moroccan Royal Football Federation justifying their move as simply “applying the regulations.” However, for many observers, this victory is part of a much larger plan. Historian Yvan Gastaut reminds in Libération that Rabat’s goal is clearly to “strengthen its international influence, not just in football.”
This relentless quest for leadership, culminating with the co-organization of the 2030 World Cup, inevitably generates tensions. It fuels what Jean-Baptiste Guégan, a specialist in sports geopolitics, describes as a “narrative of Moroccan over-power.” According to him, social media feeds a “highly conspiratorial and conspiracist fantasy” depicting Morocco as an actor capable of dictating terms to the CAF leadership.
However, the expert nuances this statement: while the country has undoubtedly become a sports power capable of defending its interests, its real power “does not go beyond influence.” The fact that the demotion of the initial winner was obtained on appeal, rather than in the first instance, dispels the idea of absolute control by the Moroccan federation over the organization’s mechanisms.
Faced with this controversy that threatens to permanently tarnish Morocco’s image in sub-Saharan Africa, Algeria is closely watching. Rabat’s major Maghreb rival could well be the main collateral beneficiary of this institutional earthquake.
As highlighted by Jean-Baptiste Guégan in the columns of the French daily, Algeria is currently making a structured comeback in continental sports diplomacy. With four recently renovated or newly built stadiums meeting FIFA standards, the country now has all the cards to host an AFCON at short notice. As diplomacy is primarily “the art of being opportunistic,” the expert warns that it would be entirely logical to see Algiers capitalize on this scandal. Seizing the current diplomatic crisis would be a golden opportunity for Algeria to “strike where it hurts, just to destabilize its Moroccan adversary.”
