Excitement building as Morocco prepares to open 35th Africa Cup of Nations against Comoros

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Excited red-and-green clad fans were making their way to the stadium hours before kickoff as Morocco prepares to open the 35th Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.

The party started the night before with a parade of fans through the capital city, Rabat.

The Atlas Lions, as the home team is known, are among the favorites to lift what would be just their second Africa Cup title 50 years after their only success in 1976. The final is Jan. 19 next year.

They begin their campaign against island nation Comoros, a team ranked 108th in the world and making just its second appearance in the competition.

No host has lost the opening match of the tournament since Burkina Faso in 1998.

Morocco is the highest-ranked African team at No. 11. The Atlas Lions became the first African team to reach the World Cup semifinals in 2022, and the country has embarked on one of the most aggressive infrastructure buildouts in African sporting history to establish itself as a soccer power. The Kingdom is also set to be a co-host of the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.

The opening match was to be played in Rabat’s renovated near 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, one of nine venues across five cities that were purposely built or renovated for the tournament.

The mascot for the tournament is a lion named Assad, inspired by the barbary lions that once prowled the mountains of north Africa. The last known photograph of a wild lion in Morocco was taken by French army photographer Marcelin Flandrin from a flight over the Atlas Mountains in 1925.

Egypt was to begin its bid for a record-extending eighth title – and Mohamed Salah’s first – against Zimbabwe in Agadir on Monday. Defending champion Ivory Coast begins its title defense against Mozambique in Marrakech on Wednesday. Senegal and five-time champion Cameroon are also among the favorites, while Algeria is the only other country apart from Morocco to have all its matches sold out.

The future of the biennial tournament was altered Saturday with the announcement it will move to a four-year cycle to bring it in line with the FIFA calendar.

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