2024 African Nations Championship final
| Event | 2024 African Nations Championship | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 30 August 2025 | ||||||
| Venue | Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Oussama Lamlioui (Morocco) | ||||||
| Referee | Abdou Abdel Mefire | ||||||
The 2024 African Nations Championship final was a football match to determine the winners of the 2024 African Nations Championship, the 8th and final edition of the tournament. It was held on 30 August 2025 at the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani, Kenya, between Madagascar and Morocco.[1][2]
Morocco beat Madagascar 3-2, claiming their third CHAN title in six years. This also made them the most successful team in the history of the tournament, one better than DR Congo's two titles. Despite losing, Madagascar's underdog performance throughout the tournament was subject of praise, as they reached the first major continental final in their history.[2][3]
Four months later in December 2025 the Confederation of African Football announced the cancellation of the competition, to be replaced by the African Nations League.[4]
Venue
The Moi International Sports Centre is a multi-purpose stadium in Kasarani, Kenya. It has hosted a variety of clubs and events, including domestic football teams Mathare United F.C. and Tusker F.C., the Kenyan national football team, and the Safari Sevens rugby tournament.[5]
In 2024 the stadium was closed for renovations to prepare it for CHAN 2024 and the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. It had its capacity reduced to 55,000, a larger roof installed, enhanced flood lighting upgraded to 3,000 Lux, video assistant referee cameras installed, and various upgrades to areas in the stadium.[5][6]
Background
Going into the tournament, Morocco were joint with DR Congo for the most successful team in the tournaments' history. They had won back-to-back editions in 2018 and 2020 but were unable to defend their title in 2022, withdrawing due to diplomatic tensions with host nation Algeria.[7] They were also the strongest team in Africa at the time, ranked 14th in the world.[8]
In contrast, Madagascar were underdogs.[2] Not a historically strong team, they built momentum in recent years having reached the quarter-finals of their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 despite being among the six worst teams on the continent, being labelled the "surprise of the tournament" and a "modern fairytale".[9][10] In CHAN 2024 their success was also a surprise - it was only their second CHAN appearance after a reaching the quarter-finals in 2022, and their first in a major continental final.[2] They were ranked 116th in the world at the time, 102 places below Morocco.[11]
Route to the final
| Madagascar | Round | Morocco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponents | Result | Group stage | Opponents | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mauritania | 0–0 | Match 1 | Angola | 2–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tanzania | 1–2 | Match 2 | Kenya | 0–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central African Republic | 2–0 | Match 3 | Zambia | 3–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Burkina Faso | 2–1 | Match 4 | DR Congo | 3–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group B Runner-Up
|
Final standings | Group A Runner-Up | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponents | Result | Knockout stage | Opponents | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kenya | 1–1 (4-3 p) | Quarter-finals | Tanzania | 1–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sudan | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Semi-finals | Senegal | 1–1 (5-3 p) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Match
Summary
The first big chance of the game fell for Morocco, when tournament top scorer Oussama Lamlioui went through one-on-one against Michel Ramandimbisoa but skimmed the outside of the post with a side-footed effort. Shortly after, Madagascar's Félicité Manohantsoa put the underdogs ahead in the 9th minute with a spectacular half volley from 25 yards out, looping the ball over the head of El Mehdi Al Harrar into the top-left corner. Their lead was short-lived however, as 18 minutes later in 27th minute Youssef Mehri headed home a cross from Khalid Baba. Morocco then took the lead in 44th with Oussama Lamlioui poking in a deflected cross at the back post.
Madagascar coach Romuald Rakotondrabe made 3 changes at half-time, bringing on Toky Rakotondraibe in the process. Midway through the second-half in 68th, Madagascar captain Tony Randriamanampisoa chipped an optimistic ball into the centre of the pitch which was flicked on by first-half goalscorer Félicité Manohantsoa. Substitute Rakotondraibe pounced on the header and poked in a clever finish from inside the box, equalising the game again against the run of play.[3]
There was still more drama to be had. With just 10 minutes left of normal time, Oussama Lamlioui outmuscled Mamisoa Rakotoson to a loose bouncing ball in midfield. Spotting Madagascar goalkeeper Michel Ramandimbisoa off of his line, Lamlioui struck the ball on the half-volley from fourty yards out, looping it into the goal and restoring Morocco's lead. Despite some late Malagasy pressure, Morocco held on to claim their third title.[2]
Details
| Madagascar | 2-3 | Morocco |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Madagascar[13]
|
Morocco[13]
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
|
Match rules[14]
|
Post-match
With two goals in the final, Oussama Lamlioui won the tournaments' golden boot with a total of six goals. Morocco captain Mohamed Rabie Hrimat won the Best Player award for his leadership throughout the competition.[15]
This victory gave Morocco its third title and made it the most successful team in the history of the tournament, one better than DR Congo's two titles. Morocco's manager Tarik Sektioui was nominated for the 2025 CAF Coach of the Year in recognition of the achievement.[16] Despite losing, Madagascar were praised for their underdog performance in reaching the first major continental final in their history, and their coach Romuald Rakotondrabe was also nominated for the 2025 CAF Coach of the Year award.[2][3][16]
In December 2025, four months after the tournaments' conclusion, the Confederation of African Football announced that the 2024 edition would be the last CHAN tournament, and it was to be replaced by the African Nations League beginning in 2029.[17]
See also
References
- ^ "Match Schedule" (PDF). cafonline.com. African Football Confederation. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f Fentuo, Fentuo Tahiru. "Morocco overcome Madagascar in dramatic final to claim third CHAN title". Olympics.com. Olympics. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ a b c "Lamlaoui brace seals Morocco's historic third TotalEnergies CHAN triumph". Lamlaoui brace seals Morocco’s historic third TotalEnergies CHAN triumph. Confederation of African Football. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ Gamra, Farah Ben (20 December 2025). "CAF Lays Out Plan for African Nations League as New Calendar Takes Shape". Morocco World News. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ a b Otieno, Wiltord (16 July 2025). "Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani: History, Location & Capacity". thekenyatimes.com. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ "Republic of Kenya Thirteenth Parliament National Assembly" (PDF). parliament.go.ke. Archived from the original on 3 November 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Holders Morocco withdraw from CHAN amid Algeria tensions". BBC Sport. BBC Sport. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". inside.fifa.com. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ Harding, Jonathan; Da Silva, Michael. "Africa Cup of Nations 2019: Madagascar stun DR Congo". dw.com.
- ^ "Africa Cup of Nations: The amazing story of Madagascar". BBC Newsround. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". inside.fifa.com. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ a b "2024 African Nations Championships (CHAN) in 2025: Full schedule, all results, scores and standings - full list". www.olympics.com.
- ^ a b "Madagascar vs Morocco - August 30, 2025 - TotalEnergies African Nations Championship 2024 Kenya/Tanzania/Uganda - Soccer | Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ "CHAN Regulations" (PDF). cafonline.com. African Football Confederation. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ "From Early Setback to Final Glory: Morocco's journey to the CHAN 2024 title". From Early Setback to Final Glory: Morocco’s journey to the CHAN 2024 title. Confederation of African Football. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ a b "Stacked shortlist for CAF Men's Coach of the Year - 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers - Africa". Africanfootball.com. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ Gamra, Farah Ben (20 December 2025). "CAF Lays Out Plan for African Nations League as New Calendar Takes Shape". Morocco World News. Retrieved 25 January 2026.