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Moroccan officials remain confident that the country’s bid is the strongest among those submitted and believe the country has shown its capacity after successfully hosting both the Women's Africa Cup of Nations and the Club World Cup in the past 12 months.
Morocco has emerged as the favourite in the race to replace Guinea as the host for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), according to sources.
Following a last-minute postponement of the competition, the Confederation of African Football is expected to announce their decision on the host country for the 2025 AFCON in April.
Guinea was stripped of the right to host Africa’s premier football competition in October 2022 due to a lack of advancing infrastructure and facilities.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe confirmed in January that Algeria, Morocco, South Africa, Zambia, and a joint Benin-Nigeria bid are in the running to replace Guinea.
Motsepe also said that any of those bids will only be considered if they offered the best "transport, logistics, hotels and beautiful stadiums".
Motsepe further stated that CAF could not assign the organisation of the tournament successively to the same region. This seemed to count against Benin and Nigeria, because another West African nation, Ivory Coast, will host in 2023.
Despite still facing competition from Algeria, who last hosted the tournament in 1990 and also successfully held the 2022 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) and South Africa, Morocco is considered the number one priority to be given the hosting rights for the 2025 AFCON.
Morocco's bid has also received backing from several heads of state, including Liberia president and international football icon George Weah together with Uganda president Yoweri Kagutta Museveni.
Morocco’s bid is boosted by its strong economy that offers the right combination of growth, security, facilities, infrastructure, and passionate fans.
Moroccan officials remain confident that the country’s bid is the strongest among those submitted and believe the country has shown its capacity after successfully hosting both the Women's Africa Cup of Nations and the Club World Cup in the past 12 months.
According to a top Moroccan official Hassan Kharbouch, the 24-team tournament will be hosted across six of the North African nation’s major cities.
"We have all the facilities and logistics to organise the African Cup of Nations," Kharbouch told BBC Sport Africa before adding.
"Not only in Rabat and Casablanca but also in Tangier, Oujda, Fez, Marrakech and Agadir, each venue boasting a number of training sites."
Recent tournaments hosted by Morocco have been successful including the U17 and U23 Nations Cups, as well as record African attendances for the Women's Cup of Nations in Rabat and Casablanca in 2022.
Morocco, which last hosted the AFCON in 1988, was due to stage it again in 2015 but withdrew because of fears over an Ebola outbreak.
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