“Thanks to the wise and far-sighted vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Morocco has been able to develop world-class football and hospitality infrastructure and has accumulated extensive experience and proven expertise in hosting and organizing major sporting events of continental and even international significance,” Diallo said in an interview with MAP.
“Whenever the Confederation of African Football (CAF) needs to organize major events, the Kingdom is ready to host them and guarantee their success, thanks to its stadiums, reception and accommodation facilities, road, sports and other infrastructure,” he said, recalling that in the spirit of African solidarity, the Kingdom does not hesitate to open its infrastructure, free of charge, for training camps, training courses, or advanced training, etc., to more than a dozen countries on the continent.
“With these remarkable advances, Morocco is positioning itself at the very heart of football development on a continental scale,” Diallo said.
“We are certain and confident that we will witness a very high-quality Africa Cup of Nations, because Morocco is a hospitable country that loves and knows how to welcome visitors and is very well developed in terms of hospitality and organization,” he continued, expressing his great joy that his team will be playing in Morocco, a country of dreams and one that is so dear to all Ivorians.
On Morocco’s rise, particularly in the field of sports, he was keen to emphasize that “if all African countries manage to follow the Kingdom’s achievements and development, Africa will be world champion at every level,” considering that the work undertaken under the reign of His Majesty the King is ‘colossal’ and ‘tangible,’ enabling the Kingdom to rise to the rank of a true sporting nation par excellence.
In his view, thanks to the efforts made, Morocco now has a head start over all African countries because, through this AFCON, the Kingdom is already preparing to host the World Cup, he added, highlighting the clear and pragmatic Royal Vision based on results, which is clearly bearing fruit.
“We recently attended the CAF Awards ceremony held in Rabat, and we saw that the Kingdom won prestigious awards in all categories. This is the result of hard work and dedication; there is no secret,” said Diallo, expressing his country’s willingness to follow Morocco’s path and draw inspiration from its pioneering experience in the field of football to achieve the expected development.
“Morocco plays a central role in efforts to promote football across Africa. And the proof is that the Kingdom has had the great merit of organizing major continental football events (U17, U20, etc.), which is by no means a coincidence,” he recalled.
When asked about the major role played by the Mohammed VI Football Academy, he said that this “unprecedented” facility is a clear illustration of a successful strategy that has been developed and is now bearing fruit, noting that young talents have been discovered, are continuing their training, and are honing their skills at the Academy.
“This proves the relevance of the choice and vision and will enable us, across generations, to have a new generation of players capable of wearing the national jersey with pride,” he said, expressing his hope that Côte d’Ivoire would establish a football academy inspired by the Kingdom’s experience.
“We want to see this kind of success story replicated across Africa so that we can enjoy high-quality services and achieve great results in football. That would be ideal, given that even in Europe, there are few countries that have this kind of academy,” he said.
Regarding the participation of the Côte d’Ivoire Elephants in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, he said that the Ivorian team is ready to go as far as possible in the competition, expressing his hope to see his team play a historic final against the Atlas Lions.
