{"id":28307,"date":"2026-05-06T06:39:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T06:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/?p=28307"},"modified":"2026-05-06T06:39:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T06:39:23","slug":"morocco-opens-the-u17-afcon-2026-the-defending-champion-on-its-own-turf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/morocco-opens-the-u17-afcon-2026-the-defending-champion-on-its-own-turf\/","title":{"rendered":"Morocco Opens the U17 AFCON 2026 \u2013 The Defending Champion on Its Own Turf"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The kick-off for the U17 AFCON 2026 will take place on May 13 at the Prince Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat\u2014featuring the host nation and defending champion on the pitch. Morocco, hosting the competition for the second consecutive time from May 13 to June 2, will begin its campaign immediately against Tunisia.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Having been crowned continental champions during the previous edition held on their home soil, the Atlas Cubs approach this tournament with a clear ambition: to confirm their supremacy.<\/p>\n<p>Their journey is part of the momentum of the national training project led by the FRMF, whose results reflect the emergence of a generation that is technically and athletically superior. The organization of this competition goes beyond a mere logistical challenge. It illustrates the coherence of a football model recognized worldwide\u2014that of a country whose continental and global ambitions become clearer with every event.<\/p>\n<p>As co-host of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, Morocco is permanently establishing itself as a hub for African and international football. With the Futsal AFCON 2026, the Women\u2019s AFCON 2026, and the FIFA U-17 Women\u2019s World Cup 2026 on the horizon, these events confirm a hosting capacity that has now become a benchmark. The competition also holds a direct qualifying dimension: the continent&#8217;s top teams will compete for precious spots in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, offering this generation a decisive window of global exposure for their development.<\/p>\n<p>Two venues will share the competition. The Prince Moulay El Hassan Stadium (Rabat), the setting for the opening, semi-finals, and final, lends a solemn dimension to the event. The Mohammed VI Football Complex (Ma\u00e2moura), the nerve center for the group stage, stands as a showcase of the Kingdom&#8217;s level of investment in its infrastructure\u2014and one of the strongest arguments for the Moroccan model.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The kick-off for the U17 AFCON 2026 will take place on May 13 at&hellip;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":28308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afcon","category-african-football"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Morocco Opens the U17 AFCON 2026 \u2013 The Defending Champion on Its Own Turf - KICK442 Sport News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/morocco-opens-the-u17-afcon-2026-the-defending-champion-on-its-own-turf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Morocco Opens the U17 AFCON 2026 \u2013 The Defending Champion on Its Own Turf - KICK442 Sport News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The kick-off for the U17 AFCON 2026 will take place on May 13 at&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/morocco-opens-the-u17-afcon-2026-the-defending-champion-on-its-own-turf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KICK442 Sport News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-06T06:39:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG-20260506-WA0006.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"538\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"kick442.com Africa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u00c9crit par\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"kick442.com Africa\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-opens-the-u17-afcon-2026-the-defending-champion-on-its-own-turf\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-opens-the-u17-afcon-2026-the-defending-champion-on-its-own-turf\/\",\"name\":\"Morocco Opens the U17 AFCON 2026 \u2013 The Defending Champion on Its Own Turf - 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