It has played host to some of the most important games in African football history and Casablanca’s famous Stade Mohamed V will be the perfect stage for a new chapter, as it hosts the first leg of the first African Football League (“AFL”) final.
Africa’s brand new continental competition has hosted a series of sensational games in its exciting inaugural edition and Casablanca will be a buzzing cauldron on Sunday, 05 November 2023, as hosts Wydad Athletic Club meet South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of the African Football League Final.
Kick-off is at 19h00 local time (18h00 GMT).
The legendary Moroccan champions squeezed past Esperance Sportive de Tunis on penalties in their two-legged AFL semi-final, while South African champions Sundowns silenced Cairo by edging out Al Ahly SC in their semi-final clash.
Now, the stage is set for two of Africa’s in-form teams to go head-to-head in what is set to be a titanic tussle for the title of inaugural Africa Football League champions – and the $4 million winners prize that goes with it.
Since kicking off on 20 October 2023 with a riveting four-goal thriller in Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam, as Simba SC and Al Ahly launched the competition, the AFL has been ferociously fought on the pitch – and fanatically followed off it – by Africa’s passionate football fans.
And it’s the heart, passion and grit of Wydad and the panache and perseverance of the stylish Sundowns who have made it to the big finale after some epic quarter-final and semi-final clashes.
Having won the last six South African league titles in a row, Mamelodi Sundowns have now firmly established themselves as one of Africa’s most feared and respected teams.
Wydad in turn are African football royalty, having won 22 Moroccan league titles and three CAF Champions League title in their proud history.
Both clubs will be desperate to write their names in African football history as the first winners of the AFL and there is little to choose between them going into the final.
The tournament concludes next weekend when Mamelodi Sundowns hosts Wydad Athletic Club in the second leg of the final in South Africa’s capital of Tshwane.