2025 AFCON /2030 WC: Govt, CDG Fund Sign Partnership Agreement to Upgrade 6 Football Stadiums, Build New One

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A partnership agreement was signed on Friday in Rabat between the government and the Deposit and Management Fund (CDG), to finance a program to upgrade six football stadiums, selected in accordance with the High Royal Directives in the cities of Tangier, Casablanca, Rabat, Agadir, Marrakech and Fez, as well as to build a new stadium in Benslimane, in preparation for the 2025 AFCON and the 2030 World Cup. “In application of the High Royal Directives aimed at ensuring the full success of the Kingdom’s organization of the final phases of the 2025 African Cup of Nations and the 2030 Football World Cup, the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, presided over the signing ceremony of a partnership agreement between the government and the Deposit and Management Fund, for the financing of a program to upgrade 6 football stadiums, chosen in accordance with the High Royal Directives in the cities of Tangier, Casablanca, Rabat, Agadir, Marrakech and Fez, as well as for the construction of a new stadium in Benslimane,” says a press release by the Department of the Head of Government. The agreement was signed by Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, and Fouzi Lekjaa, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of the Budget, on the one hand, and by Khalid Safir, General Manager of the Deposit and Management Fund, on the other, the press release adds. The project is part of HM King Mohammed VI’s far-sighted vision to further develop the Kingdom’s football infrastructure, and to bring the six stadiums involved in the upgrading and modernization project into line with the standards of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) by 2025, and those of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) by 2028. These are the Grand Stade de Tangier, the Mohammed V complex in Casablanca, the Prince Moulay Abdallah Sporting Complex in Rabat, the Grand Stadium of Agadir, the Grand Stadium of Marrakech and the Sporting Complex of Fez. With this agreement, the government will have completed the establishment of sources of financing for the upgrading and construction of stadiums to host the final phases of the CAN 2025 and the World Cup 2030. Under the terms of the agreement, a budget of some 9.5 billion dirhams will be mobilized for the implementation of investment projects relating to the upgrading of these stadiums to CAF standards over the period 2023 – 2025. A second upgrade will be carried out at a later stage, in line with FIFA standards, for a budget of between 4.5 and 6 billion dirhams, over the period 2025 – 2028, says the same source. The agreement signed between the government and CDG also covers the construction of a new stadium in Benslimane (Casablanca-Settat region), for an investment budget of around 5 billion dirhams, over the period 2025 – 2028. The Head of Government took the opportunity to state that Morocco’s organization of the 2025 African Cup of Nations, as well as the 2030 World Cup in conjunction with Spain and Portugal, is a consecration of the development process led by His Majesty the King, may God assist him, over more than two decades, and a recognition of the Kingdom’s special place among the great nations, the press release continued. It added that the government remains mobilized for the realization of these investment projects and the establishment of all the conditions ensuring full success to the organization by our country of the CAN 2025 and the World Cup 2030.