Overview:
French International Kylian Mbappe who also features at Paris Saint-Germain was among the fans in attendance as Morocco faced Mali at the 69,500-seater Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium
My festive holiday-cum-work continues in the North African country of Morocco where the 35th edition of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is taking place.
Boxing day for the year 2025 got me at the El-Fath apartment in Rabat city.
It was on the same day the official pre-match press conference leading to the Uganda versus Tanzania game was held at the main media center in Rabat.
Along with the other members from the Kawowo Sports family, I attended the press conference where Uganda Cranes head coach Joseph Paul Put and playmaker Allan Okello addressed the media.
From Rabat, I embarked on a road trip to the nearby Salle city where the state of art Mohammed VI Sports Complex is based.
This was the venue where Uganda Cranes was to execute the final training session leading to the Tanzania game.
The road trip was smooth with the AFCON tournament presence felt heavily given the signage and the different country flags decimated along the way.
In Salle city centre, I witnessed several historic building structures and at one point, I saw a set of lovely doves on way to the Mohammed VI Sports Complex.
Upon return, I drove direct to the 69,500-seater Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium for the Morocco versus Mali contest.
French International Kylian Mbappe who also features at Real Madrid was among the fans in attendance.
Seated in the special VIP box, Mbappe waved to the crowd as the main camera brought a closer view for him.
This contest was interesting with two Video Assistant Referee (VAR) influenced penalty goals.
By mid-night (local time), the match was done and dusted as I left the stadium back to my El Fath Apartment.
Saturday is the D-Day for Uganda Cranes taking on Tanzania Taifa Stars at the Al Madina Stadium in the East African derby.
Both countries come to the derby with wounded hearts having lost in their respective openers in Group C.
Tanzania lost 1-2 to Nigeria in Fes city and Uganda fell 1-3 to Tunisia in Rabat.
