AFCON-Morocco 2025: French Ambassador to Rabat, MAP Director General Visit MAP-AFP Joint Newsroom

On this occasion, the French diplomat and MAP Director General followed explanations on the functioning of this editorial office, which is located within the Maghreb Arab Press Agency, and discussed with its managers the various aspects of covering this continental competition.

In a statement to MAP, Lecourtier welcomed the establishment of this newsroom designed to cover an extremely intense and major sporting event on which “the eyes of Africa and sports enthusiasts will be set during the upcoming weeks.”

“I am very delighted to see a team of French journalists come here to work with their Moroccan colleagues so as to highlight this major event in the most modern way possible,” he said.

According to the French ambassador, this project is the continuation of a long-standing cooperation covering a wide range of areas between the two news agencies.

For his part, Arif told MAP that the joint newsroom, which involves Moroccan and French journalists and mentors, forms part of the 2nd phase of the training program launched more than a month ago, with teams from MAP’s sports division, photographers and social media content creators participating in a training workshop in Paris.

This is one aspect of bilateral cooperation that is poised to grow and expand soon along with other areas of agency journalism, he stressed. “We are all optimistic about the outcomes and the interest both parties place on this cooperation.”

MAP and AFP signed last October in Paris a cooperation agreement to establish partnership in sports journalism.

The said agreement, signed by MAP Director General Fouad Arif and AFP CEO Fabrice Fries aims at promoting the exchange of expertise, editorial and technological innovation, and conducting common projects.

“Morocco has an incredible history. The vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the work carried out by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation have positioned the Kingdom among the great footballing nations,” Montagliani underlined in an interview with MAP.

In this regard, he praised the strategy for developing Moroccan football, initiated under the leadership of His Majesty the King, and the recent achievements of the national team, citing the milestone achieved by Morocco’s U20 team in the World Cup and the historic achievement of the Atlas Lions in the last World Cup in Qatar (semifinals).

The Mohammed VI Football Academy is at the heart of this success story, noted the CONCACAF President, explaining that this institution plays a major role in promoting football and represents a model to be followed by many countries.

“I think Morocco today is not only the best in Africa, but one of the best in the world. And I’m sure many teams will want to avoid facing Morocco at the 2026 World Cup, because they are a very good team,” he said.

Referring to the preparations underway for the 2026 World Cup, Montagliani assured that the host countries, namely the United States, Canada, and Mexico, are “ready” to host a World Cup that promises to be “the biggest ever organized.”

This unprecedented edition of football’s premier competition is the first to be jointly organized by three countries and the first to feature 48 teams, which will play a total of 104 matches, including 78 in the United States, 13 in Canada, and 13 in Mexico, he noted.

The matches in this global tournament will be played in 16 stadiums: 11 in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada. The opening match is scheduled for June 11 at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, while the final will take place on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey.

This Fan Zone has been set up at the International University Campus of Rabat, which falls under the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI). More than 80 nationalities live on this campus, including students from 47 African countries, making it one of the places with the greatest diversity per square meter on the African continent.

The inauguration ceremony of the AMCI Fan Zone, held notably in the presence of the Dean of African Ambassadors to Morocco, Mouhamadou Youssifou, African ambassadors accredited in Rabat, the CAF Secretary General, Véron Mosengo-Omba, and the Ambassador Director General of AMCI, Mohamed Methqal, also saw the participation of ambassadors from African countries accredited to the Kingdom, as well as a large number of international students and graduates of Morocco’s cooperation programs, who came to celebrate this event marked by fraternity and the promotion of sporting values.

This Fan Zone places the youth at the heart of this major continental celebration, making sport, the arts and culture vehicles for exchange, integration and sharing.

This initiative illustrates the Kingdom of Morocco’s commitment to implementing the Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, for an emerging and sustainable Africa based on effective solidarity and the promotion of South-South cooperation. It also reflects the central place accorded by the Sovereign to African youth.

Covering an area of 5,000 square meters, the AMCI Fan Zone aims to welcome nearly 50,000 visitors throughout AFCON 2025.

In a festive atmosphere combining sport, culture and entertainment, and involving students and graduates of the Kingdom’s cooperation programs, the Fan Zone will offer throughout the competition live broadcasts of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations matches on a giant screen, the organization of a football tournament dedicated to students, gaming and e-sports areas fostering interaction and conviviality, eight diverse artistic and cultural days featuring performances, as well as four thematic conferences.

Currently, around 20,000 African students from 47 countries are pursuing higher education in Morocco through the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation, underscoring the Kingdom’s strong and lasting commitment to a forward-looking and solidarity-based South-South cooperation.