The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will be hosted by Morocco and, to stage the tournament, they have developed an impressive infrastructure plan that equipped the nation with modern stadiums built in record time. Six of the nine venues were proposed by Morocco to host matches for the 2030 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted together with Spain and Portugal. At the same time, the lavish government spending on the upcoming sporting events—considered not a priority by much of the population—sparked dramatic street protests that broke out at the end of September, led by the so-called Gen Z 212. Between the Hassan II stadium project, the largest football facility in the world planned for Casablanca, and an ongoing bloody social uprising, the Coupe d’Afrique des nations de football will take place from 21 December to 18 January, in a climate far from peaceful.
Grand Stade d’Agadir
Opened in 2013 after a full nine years of construction and upgraded last May, it is the home ground of HUS Agadir, with a capacity of over 45,000 seats and owned by the Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sports. Here, in 2013, four matches of the FIFA Club World Cup won by Bayern Munich were played. It features a covered stand, an athletics track and a façade made of stone steps evoking a stepped pyramid, forming an oval-shaped stadium that rises at the edge of the so-called Capital of Souss, where most of the population are Chleuh, a Berber ethnic group deeply rooted in southern Morocco. Located at the foot of the Atlas Mountains and about ten kilometres from the country’s most famous beaches, this stadium will host eight matches in the upcoming competition.
Grand Stade de Marrakech
Immediately standing out from the other tournament facilities, the stadium north of the so-called ochre city has a distinctive design. Designed in the style of Genoa’s Marassi stadium, it has a rectangular plan and corner towers that connect to the stands. The only drawback for football spectators is the athletics track, which puts the stands further away from the pitch. However, the stadium was renovated in time for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. A total of 45,240 seats are arranged in two rings, and the architecture is inspired by Marrakech, a major international tourist destination and the most globalised of the four imperial cities. Eight matches will also take place here, in a stadium that has already experienced great nights, having hosted two consecutive FIFA Club World Cup finals in 2013 and 2014.
Stade Mohammed V
Regarded as the temple of Moroccan football, it is the country’s oldest stadium, built in 1955. Its stands, which today can hold 45,000 spectators, are the home of the nation’s two most followed clubs, who contest the Casablanca derby, played between Raja CA and Wydad AC. In 1997 as many as 110,000 people attended what is considered one of the world’s most intense rivalries, creating an atmosphere that helped christen this stadium an incandescent arena. Nicknamed Donor, the facility located in the Maârif neighbourhood has been named since 1983 after Mohammed V, sultan of Morocco for almost 50 years and the country’s first sovereign after independence in 1957. Structurally similar to the first stadium mentioned, it is a city landmark located in the heart of the country’s demographic and economic capital.
Complexe sportif de Fès
Four matches will be hosted at the stadium of the Fès sports complex, a northern city known for its cultural and spiritual soul. A restyling project in view of the 2030 World Cup bid should give it a new face: currently it follows the classic scheme of the stadiums seen so far. The 45,000 seats could increase to 55,800 with full coverage of the stands, following a general renovation of the city. Home to Maghreb AS, the structure in front of the main stand made of glass panels remains the most striking feature, echoing Arabesque motifs. The background of this stadium is curious and odyssean: the project was presented in 1992, construction started two years later, finished in 2003 and it was officially inaugurated in 2007.
Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah
This can be considered the tournament’s principal stadium, the brand-new jewel located in Rabat that Morocco can boast of. Inaugurated on September 4th and built on the site of the old facility, with its 68,000 seats it is the largest stadium in the capital and is only 7 kilometres from the city centre, set in a green area. Its form is that of the large modern arenas built in Europe, like Tottenham Stadium, with a cladding that envelops the whole structure and, crucially, no athletics track: a stadium designed purely for football. During AFCON 2025 it will host all of Morocco’s group-stage matches and one match per knockout round, including of course the final on 18 January. Considered the competition’s nerve centre, it is part of a sports complex that includes another of Rabat’s four stadiums taking part in the tournament.
Stade Olympique de Rabat
The Stade Annexe Olympique du Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah is located literally next to Rabat’s new arena and is equally recent. Built in record time (nine months), it opened its gates last 25 May. An elegant crescent-shaped roof wraps a main stand and two half-stands, with 21,000 seats arranged on an oval plan around an athletics track used for the 2025 Diamond League. A multifunctional centre, it will be used in the future for CAF training programmes and school competitions.
Complexe Sportif Prince Héritier Moulay El Hassan
Following the trend of new sports infrastructure that Rabat has equipped itself with, here is another gem of 22,000 seats, named after the Crown Prince of Morocco. Located in an urban area of the capital, in El Youssoufia, it hosts FUS Rabat’s home matches on the site of the former stadium. Its inauguration took place only on November 13th, during which the African playoffs for the 2026 World Cup qualification were contested. The lines are at once elegant and fluid, the red and green seats echo the Moroccan flag, but it is the exterior façade that catches the eye with Berber motifs designed to optimise air circulation and the reflection of sunlight.
Stade Al Medina
In some ways it can be considered the twin of Moulay El Hassan since it was inaugurated on the same day and for the same competition. To make room for this facility, the old El Barid stadium of UTS Rabat, a historic capital club, as well as several surrounding buildings were demolished. It has 18,000 seats on two tiers and optimal visibility, with the front rows raised above pitch level. Acting as both roof and façade is a large white cladding made of diamond-shaped panels, which illuminate at night in the dynamic Agdal district, close to the administrative hub and the station.
Grand Stade de Tanger—Stade Ibn Battuta
The tournament concludes at the northern extremity of Morocco with the mammoth stadium of Tangier, the country’s largest facility. In just 14 years it has undergone three renovations, which increased capacity from 45,000 to 75,000 spectators and removed the athletics track. The new white membrane that serves as the roof supports lights, the sound system and the screens, making the stadium look ultramodern. At the level of the main stand, interrupting the continuity of the façade, rises a three-dimensional concrete structure, flanked by a series of spiral staircases in the style of the Etihad Stadium. Also re-inaugurated last November, the stadium is a landmark for the entire city of Tangier, an important place in history that has seen many peoples pass through. The historical heritage is also kept alive by the venue’s second name, Ibn Battuta, in honour of the Berber explorer who was born here in medieval times.
