iDeemlawfulThe Confederation of African Football (CAF) has explained that Morocco’s repeated selection as host for major African football tournaments is driven by financial and logistical constraints facing many other countries on the continent.
Speaking in a video obtained by SaharaReporters while addressing journalists, CAF President Patrice Motsepe said several nations avoid bidding for continental competitions because hosting them is viewed as financially unsustainable.
“Let me give you an example. I ask in CAF, we’ve got Futsal. I open a bid for six months and nobody submits an offer because they lose money,” he said.
Motsepe noted that a similar scenario played out during preparations for the CAF Women’s Champions League, where initial interest from potential host countries was absent.
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“I open a bid for the Women’s Champions League, nobody puts a bid because they lose money. And what happens? Morocco comes and says, ‘I’ll help you.’ And sometimes another country comes and says, ‘I will help you,’” he added.
According to the CAF president, this pattern has led to the same nations—particularly Morocco—regularly hosting competitions, not due to preferential treatment but because few alternatives are available.
“And what that leads to is that we’ve got lots of competitions where it’s often the same countries,” he said.
He further explained that many African governments openly acknowledge their inability to provide the funding and infrastructure required to host large-scale football events.
“Partly it’s because the others don’t — the government say, ‘We don’t have the money, we don’t have the resources,’” Motsepe stated.
Despite these challenges, he stressed that CAF remains focused on expanding football development across the continent and encouraging more countries to invest in sports facilities.
“We have to move on and develop African football and encourage those others as well to build their infrastructure because we’ll get there,” he said, expressing confidence that more nations would eventually be able to host CAF competitions.
Meanwhile, African football icon and Super Falcons star, Asisat Oshoala, recently criticised CAF’s apparent dependence on Morocco as a host for tournaments and awards ceremonies.
The striker called for a fairer spread of hosting opportunities across Africa, urging other countries to become more proactive.
Oshoala shared her concerns on social media platform X, questioning the growing concentration of African football events in Morocco.
“The big question here is when will this whole @CAF_Online compensation to Morocco end? Awards, tournaments and all… it’s getting boring now,” she posted. “We need other countries to step up. Everything concerning African football happens in Morocco; it feels like that’s the new HQ.”
The six-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year also suggested that Nigeria could successfully host the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) through regional collaboration.
She pointed to the close proximity of countries such as Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, and Togo, arguing that co-hosting remains a realistic option with adequate commitment.
“We can co-host with our neighbours if we are serious,” Oshoala asserted. “Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Togo are all next door… you can’t tell me two of these five neighbouring countries can’t co-host AFCON.”
Her comments come amid Morocco’s growing prominence in African football, as the country currently hosts the 35th edition of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, with CAF frequently praising its modern infrastructure and organisational capacity as key reasons for its selection.