Day 2 (Friday, 19 December, 2025)
Touchdown Casablanca And A Long Night At The Airport
Welcome to Casablanca! Welcome to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations!! These were some of the messages that confronted us as we stepped off the Air Maroc Boeing 737 aircraft at the Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca.
As we had arrived very late the previous night, we decided to remain at the airport till daybreak when we would continue our journey to the northern Moroccan city of Fez, where the Super Eagles will play all their three AFCON 2025 first round matches.
Photojournalists’ Union And Midnight Reflections
Ganiyu Yusuf and Segun Ogunfeyitimi resumed their story-telling and I had a good laugh as they unearthed more and more “inside stories” about their experiences as photo-journalists. I was getting to learn from them that Nigerian sports photo-journalists had a very strong but quiet “Union.” Any editor who tries to undermine them or divide their ranks does so at his own peril.
Casablanca ’93 And Africa’s World Cup Race
While we waited for daybreak, my mind cast back again to the past, specifically to 1993 which was my first trip to Casablanca. I had travelled to cover a 1994 World Cup qualifier between Morocco and Senegal at the Stade Mohammed V which the home team won 1-0.
Also Read: My Daily AFCON Diary: From Maroc ’88 Heartbreak To Super Eagles’ 2025 Return
Actually, the match was of no consequence for Nigeria at the time as the Super Eagles were in a different qualifying group with Algeria and Ivory Coast. But we had started publishing Complete Football International magazine whose focus was African football.
I was the pioneer editor, so I found themselves in Casablanca for the assignment. Ultimately, Morocco won their group and qualified for the 1994 FIFA World Cup alongside Nigeria and Cameroun at a time when Africa had only three seats at the finals.
Back to the present, and its finally daybreak in Casablanca. Complete Sports reporter, James Agberebi had arrived before us and Ganiyu Yusuf called him to come join us at the airport for the onward journey to Fez. James arrived with a smart car driven by a smart driver and we went to the train station to catch the afternoon train to Fez.
ONCF Train Ride Through The Moroccan Countryside
Morocco’s intercity transport is modern and well developed. The train service run by ONCF is good and comparable to what you will find in major cities in Europe. We bought our tickets for 165 Dirhams each (about $18 USDollars) and off we went.
The train ride from Casablanca to Fez through the Moroccan countryside took about three hours. I spent most of the time catching up on lost sleep. But when I woke up and decided to stretch my legs on the train corridor, James Agberebi came over to join me to share his own stories about how my writings in Complete Football magazine back in the day inspired him as a teenager. I am getting used to hearing these stories now from many young people which humble me a lot. James is a hard-working young man and he has been consistent since he joined us at Complete Sports. This was his first trip to North Africa, he said.
Arrival In Fez, Ancient Medina And AFCON Readiness
Presently, we arrive and disembark at the Fez Central Station. Ganiyu Yusuf’s brilliant son, Mubarak, had helped us to reserve hotel accommodation in Fez online, so a red taxi cab took us there. Bilal, the taxi driver, was very lively and chatty. Ganiyu speaks French, so both of them went into overdrive.
Aside from covering the AFCON, Bilal wanted us to visit every landmark in Fez which boasts of the world’s oldest university, the University of Al-Qarawiyyin (or Al-Karaouine), founded in 859 AD as a mosque and madrasah remarkably by a woman, Fatima al-Fihri. It is recognized by the Guinness World Record and UNESCO as the oldest institution of higher learning in the world, predating European universities like Bologna (1088) and Oxford (1096). We assured Bilal that we would definitely find time to visit, including some of the old palaces that we saw on our way to the hotel.
Our hotel is located in the “Ancient Medinah” (or “Old Medinah”) district of Fez where another historic landmark, the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque, is cited. It’s not difficult to notice from the architecture of the buildings that Fez is indeed a historic destination and the AFCON Football that was coming to town would only open the eyes of the world to one of Africa’s oldest and most exciting tourist attractions. The signs are dotted all over place.
Accreditation At The Fez Sports Complex
The moment we dropped our bags at the hotel, we took another red taxi and off we went to the newly built Sports Complex in Fez that would host the AFCON matches, to get our accreditation tags. I wasn’t pleased with the photo of me on my tag, but the young South African CAF official in charge of the accreditation assured me that a correction would be made the following day. Welcome to Fez.
By Mumini Alao, in Fez
