Morocco’s coach, Tarek Sektioui, has declared that his team’s target is to clinch the 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan) title, something that would make the north African nation the most successful side in the competition’s history with three titles.
The 19-nation, four-week biennial tournament kicked-off in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, yesterday. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are the tournament’s co-hosts.
Today, Morocco nicknamed the “Atlas Lions” will clash with Angola’s “Palancas Negras” in the second Group “A” match at the 18,000-seater Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi from 7pm local time.
Football fans arrive at Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani on August 3,2025 ahead of Group A match between Kenya and DR Congo.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat| Nation Media Group
Hosts Kenya will open the group’s campaign with a potentially-explossive encounter against two-time winners the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the 48,000-seater Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani from 3pm. Morocco and DRC are the only teams which have won the Chan title twice. DRC, nicknamed the “Leopards” won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2009 held in Cote d’Ivoire, and lifted the trophy again in 2016 when Rwanda hosted it.
Morocco won the tournament back-to-back in 2018 when they hosted it, and in 2020 when Cameroon hosted the championship. Both Morocco and Angola are making their fifth appearance in Chan finals this year.
Football fans arrive at Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani on August 3,2025 ahead of Group A match between Kenya and DR Congo.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat| Nation Media Group
While addressing the press yesterday at MISC Kasarani, Sektioui said that although the tournament has attracted strong teams, they will seek to clinch the title with a 100 per cent win record.
“The matches are not easy but we will do our best to win all of them, and to take the trophy,” said Sektioui, 47.
While acknowledging Angola as a formidable side under Portuguese coach Pedro Gonçalves, Sektioui emphasised the importance of his side winning the match, saying a strong start in the tournament will build his players’ confidence.
Angola have branded themselves as underdogs in the Group “A” but said that their primary target is to reach the quarterfinal stage of the tournament.
Only the top two teams in all the four groups will progress to the quarter-final stage. Morocco head to today’s contests as Africa’s top ranked nation globally at 12th, while Angola are placed 85th in the Fifa rankings.
The two teams last locked horns in March 2024 in a friendly match held in Morocco, and the hosts won by a solitary goal.
However, today’s match will mark the first competitive meeting between the two sides in Chan. In their four previous appearances at the biennial tournament reserved for players plying their trade in the domestic league of their respective countries, the “Atlas Lions” have reached the knock-out round in three of four previous appearances – in 2014, 2018, and in 2020.
They are currently on a 13-game unbeaten run in the tournament. The team has registered 11 wins and two draws and have yet to lose an opening match in Chan.
For Angola, their best performance in Chan was in the 2011 edition where they finished runners-up after losing 3-0 to Tunisia.
