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Protecting the game: Fighting piracy to keep African football alive

Multi-ethnic group of young male soccer fans sitting on couch in living room watching match on TV
Multi-ethnic group of young male soccer fans sitting on couch in living room watching match on TV

On the evening of 21 December 2025, a football match will kick off between Morocco and Comoros in Rabat. It will be the opening game of the 35th edition of the TotalEnergies CAF African Cup of Nations (TotalEnergies CAF AFCON) tournament.

The game will have an audience of millions.

There will likely be a full house of 68,000-odd fans at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, but most fans will watch the game via streaming and television, from across the African continent – and the world.

Editor's Comment
Deadly weekend demands immediate vigilance

The heartbreaking reports carried elsewhere on this publication of a woman killed in Metsimotlhabe and four family members perishing near Metsimaswaana Bridge are, devastatingly, not isolated incidents. They represent the sharp, painful tip of a weekend that has seen far too many collisions, injuries, and losses on the roads. This alarming spike in fatalities is a screaming siren we cannot ignore. It compels a direct and urgent plea to every...

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