The Gambia Football Federation yesterday congratulated Morocco for winning the right to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The decision was announced Wednesday by the president of Caf after the continental football governing body’s executive committee voted to award the North African country at its meeting held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
The president of the GFF, Lamin Kabba Bajo, described the news as a very welcome development and will deserved. He further stated that with its existing high quality infrastructure, there’s no country more deserving of hosting the 2025 edition.
Mr Bajo paid tribute to the pan-African gesture of Morocco which continues to open its country and facilities to African national teams, including The Gambia, over many years. “Morocco’s various national teams continue to perform exceptionally at international football tournaments and the most recent is the Atlas Lions when they became the first African country to play in a World Cup semi-finals in Qatar. This is as a result of the investments they made over the years and continue to so,” Mr Bajo told the GFF Media.
He referred to the bilateral cooperation between the Morocc and The Gambia among others in Africa arguing that it is now time that the continent also gives the Moroccan people something to smile about. “I’ve no doubt that they will organise an exceptional and extraordinary mega football event,” Mr Bajo also a former Gambian ambassador to the Kingdom said.
Morocco were awarded the hosting of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals replacing Guinea who were stripped of the right to host the tournament last year, while the 2027 rights were handed to a co-bid from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Morocco won by default after Algeria, Zambia and a joint bid from Benin and Nigeria all withdrew before the vote of the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee in Cairo on Wednesday.
The North African country was a runaway favourite and will see the decision as a boost to their hopes of co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Spain.
It is only the second time that Morocco will host Africa’s most popular sporting event, almost four decades after the previous time in 1988.
The joint East African bid for 2027 returns the finals to the region for the first time since 1976.
They beat Botswana, Egypt and Senegal in a vote of the CAF executive committee. Algeria were also a candidate but withdrew on Tuesday.
