As Morocco prepares to host the 2025 AFCON a month from now, the whole country’s focus will be on the Atlas Lions as they embark on yet another quest to finally win the continental title, this time on home soil.
Among the 23 other participating teams, one in particular will catch their attention, that of Algeria and the thousands of its supporters who will flock to the kingdom to cheer the Fennecs. The reasons are multiple, but when put together they all give a picture about the complex love-hate relationship between the two peoples.
This AFCON comes at a moment of high tension between the two governments not only over the issue Western Sahara, traditionally the main source of contention between Rabat and Algiers, but also over mutual accusation of cultural heritage appropriation and a fierce competition to exert influence in Africa through football. This tension saw the peoples of the two countries, who previously managed to build bridges that counterbalanced the decades-long cold relations, get actively engaged in, especially on social media, by constantly attacking and smearing one another.
Had Morocco hosted the event six or eight years ago, we would probably have seen plenty of Moroccan fans along with their A
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