Morocco - Algeria: the 2025 AFCON, the stage of a sporting rivalry

While the two national teams had parted ways with an Algerian victory during the 2021 Arab Cup, the dynamic has reversed, with Morocco now emerging as a leading football nation after its semi-final at the Qatar World Cup, while Algeria is struggling to regain its 2019 level.

This competition crystallizes the political tensions born from the rupture of diplomatic relations in 2021. According to the sports geopolitics expert Jean-Baptiste Guégan, football has become a "tool of governance and power" in this regional power struggle, recalls France 24.

Friction episodes have multiplied: the Moroccan boycott of the CHAN, the controversy over the RS Berkane jersey confiscated in Algiers, or the concealment of Moroccan results by certain Algerian media. The president of the Moroccan football federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, even accused Algiers of being behind calls for a boycott of the 2025 AFCON and disinformation campaigns on the tournament’s infrastructure.

Despite this climate, the welcome of Algerian supporters and delegation will be a crucial issue for Morocco’s image, the future co-host of the 2030 World Cup. Fouzi Lekjaa assured that Algerians would be "welcome" and warmly received. The enthusiasm is indeed real: the 22,000 tickets for the Fennecs’ first match against Sudan in Rabat were sold in less than 48 hours, and all tickets for their matches have been sold, promising an electric but closely monitored atmosphere.