Story bySAM METZ and CIARÁN FAHEYThu, December 18, 2025 at 11:23 AM UTC·4 min readRABAT, Morocco (AP) — Staging the Africa Cup of Nations from Sunday is another major step in Morocco’s road to becoming a global soccer power and a dry run as a co-host for the 2030 World Cup. Three years after reaching the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup, the North African kingdom will host 24 teams from across the continent and welcome spectators to nine new or renovated stadiums in six cities. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt’s only the second time Morocco has hosted the biennial tournament, but it comes at a time when it regularly stages other African nations’ “home” games for World Cup qualifiers, and after it secured the rights to host five Under-17 Women’s World Cups in a row. It also hosted the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in July. Curtain-raiser for greater ambitionsOfficials have framed this Africa Cup as a high-visibility dress rehearsal for the World Cup in 2030, when Morocco will be one of the main co-hosts alongside Spain and Portugal. Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will also host a game each. Morocco harbors high hopes of staging the final in Hassan II Stadium, set to be the largest soccer arena in the world with a capacity of 115,000 after its planned completion in 2028. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe new national stadium is arguably the highlight of one of the most aggressive infrastructure buildouts in African sporting history.