In Morocco, Africa celebrates itself during its greatest football ritual, which keeps the continent together for a while

Even before the ball rolled, the teams had already made an initial choice about how they wanted to present themselves on Africa’s biggest football stage. The national teams that arrived on Moroccan soil in recent weeks for the Africa Cup of Nations entered the red carpet with a vibrant mix of culture and style. Nigerian players showed up in deep green agbadas. Mali’s striped boubous made of hand-woven cotton and Zimbabwe’s tailoring of geometric patterns from the Ndebele aesthetic also caught the eye.

The colorful entries were part of the biennial ritual in which Africa celebrates itself. La Coupe d’Afrique des Nations (CAN) is one of the few moments when Africa still experiences itself as a collective. Chairs will be added in squares, living rooms and cafes — both within the continent and among the African diaspora — in the coming month. On Sunday evening, host country Morocco opens the tournament in Rabat against the Comoros.

The continent longs for collective enlightenment. Hopeless wars in Sudan and Eastern Congo drag on, coups follow one another, while declining development budgets and youth protests increase the pressure. The tournament does not provide a solution to these problems, but keeps them at bay temporarily.

In the meantime, a promise must be fulfilled in Morocco. This Africa Cup is a shining showcase for the host country. The tournament fits into a longer story of modernization. Stadiums have been completed, infrastructure upgraded and logistics in order. The Africa Cup is also the dress rehearsal for the 2030 World Cup, which the country is organizing together with Spain and Portugal. The message to the outside world must be loud and clear: Morocco can do this.

Nearly €2 billion was invested in stadiums for the Africa Cup, while the cost of Morocco’s share in the World Cup is estimated at €5.5 billion, with overlap between both investment programs. These investments clash with the daily reality of many Moroccans. Particularly in Agadir, this remarkable financial strength was scrutinized.

In October, broad social resistance erupted in the coastal city after the death of eight women who did not survive childbirth after a caesarean section in the local Hassan II hospital. The tragic deaths, which exposed broader shortcomings in care, became a reason to denounce structural neglect by the government.

Moroccans, led by young people who call themselves Gen Z-212, took to the streets to draw attention to healthcare, education and social security. The slogan that sounded in several cities was crystal clear: “We don’t want stadiums, we want hospitals.”

Harsh repression

The protests were quickly contained with large-scale repression: thousands of arbitrary arrests, beatings in police custody and heavy sentences against young demonstrators in particular, including people who did not participate in protests. Hundreds of people, including young teenagers, remain in detention, which has had a paralyzing effect on further mobilization.

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The underlying message is clear: unpredictability will not be tolerated. For Rabat, this Africa Cup is an exercise in control. The image that should emerge is that of a stable, modern country capable of hosting a continent. For example, L’Océan, a centrally located neighborhood in Rabat, has become a silent test case of urban redevelopment in recent months: homes are being bought up and demolished, residents speak of pressure to leave, while the city council recognizes that the interventions are part of the preparations for, among other things, the African Cup of Nations.

Mohamed Sissa (67) shrugs. He pushes a stack of newspapers straight from his kiosk on Avenue Hassan II in Gauthier, a neighborhood in Casablanca’s compact city center. „LaCAN?” Sissa smiles faintly from behind his Nike cap. “What do we, the people, actually gain from this tournament?” he asks, tapping his index finger briefly against his chest.

The Africa Cup brings together, but does not erase anything

A little further on, the lifted chins of Moroccan star players Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Díaz look straight at you from luminous advertising panels. The tomato red of the Moroccan flag hangs low above the streets. “We have other problems. Look at the schools, look at the hospitals. The unemployed, the beggars on the streets,” says Sissa. “Yes, it brings joy. For a while. But such a tournament comes and goes. What do we do when the party is over?”

Is the Africa Cup merely a showcase, or also a social lever, as Rabat argues? A Moroccan opinion poll business newspaper L’Économiste among Moroccans suggests that a large majority expect positive effects from the tournament, especially in terms of tourism and international image. At the same time, these expected benefits are hardly linked to structural employment or purchasing power.

Narcotic effect

The tournament temporarily relieves Rabat from the headaches about its legitimacy problems, the government is counting on the numbing effect among football-mad Moroccans. But as publicist Hicham Alaoui put it this week in the Moroccan newspaper Le Matin: “The Africa Cup brings together, but does not erase anything.”

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Rabat is eagerly promoting the tournament as an engine of growth and national pride. The latter will emerge in all participating countries in the coming days. For example, weeks before the tournament, a Sudanese entrepreneur from Doha had contacted his country’s national football association with a proposal to dress the players in traditional jalabiyas upon arrival. Free, as a gesture to a homeland at war and a people looking for something to hold on to.

Designs were ready, but the plan failed with the association. When the players arrived in Casablanca this week without an aesthetic calling card, Sudanese fans reacted with disappointment. It shows how strong the need remains to be able to imagine a different reality despite everything. That imagination is perhaps the most underestimated strength of the biennial football tournament.

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