Morocco will begin their qualification campaign for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with home and away matches against Gabon and Lesotho in September, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has confirmed.
The Atlas Lions, quarter-finalists at the 2026 World Cup, will host Gabon on 25 September at the Stade Moulay Abdellah in Rabat.
They will then travel to South Africa four days later to face Lesotho at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein on 29 September.
The venues and dates were announced officially by the FRMF, confirming details that had been indicated several days earlier by the Lesotho Football Association. Lesotho will not be able to stage the fixture in their own country because they do not have a stadium that meets the required approval standards.
As a result, Mohamed Ouahbi and his players will welcome Morocco at a venue in neighbouring South Africa. The match will take Morocco to the opposite end of the continent soon after their opening home fixture against Gabon.
Morocco have faced Gabon three times in the past four years, with two victories and one draw. Their two most recent meetings came in September and November 2024 during qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Those matches produced convincing wins for Morocco. They secured a 4-1 victory in the first encounter before completing a 5-1 success in the return fixture.
Achraf Hakimi and his Morocco team-mates also played Lesotho during the same period, again in the World Cup qualifying campaign.
The first meeting was a closely contested affair, with Morocco eventually claiming a 1-0 win. Brahim Diaz scored the decisive goal in the third minute of added time, at 90 minutes and three minutes.
Morocco were far more emphatic in the return match one month later in Rabat. They recorded a 7-0 victory against the Likuena, the name used for the Lesotho national team.
The September double-header will therefore bring Morocco back together with two opponents they have already encountered recently in competitive football. Their record against both sides gives them a favourable recent history, although the opening match will be their first scheduled step towards the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
The FRMF’s announcement settles the initial details of Morocco’s qualifying programme: Gabon will be the visitors in Rabat on 25 September, while the clash with Lesotho will take place in Bloemfontein on 29 September because of the lack of an approved stadium in Lesotho.
