By Sola Fanawopo
At the Africa Cup of Nations, football often pretends to be neutral. Culture, history, and identity rarely are. When Moroccans overwhelmingly rallied behind the Tunisian national football team in their clash with the Nigerian national football team at the Fès Stadium, the message was unmistakable: blood is thicker than water.
This was not merely about ninety minutes of football; it was a vivid reminder that AFCON is as much a political and cultural theatre as it is a sporting competition.
From Warmth to Hostility
The contrast was striking. During Nigeria’s opening match against the Tanzania national football team, the majority of the 11,444 spectators sang Victor Osimhen’s name and rallied behind the Super Eagles as if they were the home team.
Days later, before a crowd of 24,544 for Nigeria’s encounter with Tunisia, the atmosphere flipped completely. The stands were no longer warm or welcoming; they were openly hostile. The story was written in the terraces before the ball even rolled. Moroccan fans sang, waved Tunisian colours, and roared every Tunisian attack with a passion that felt almost tribal.
Tunisians were not guests; they were kin. Nigeria, despite its pedigree, history, and continental stature, was unmistakably cast as the outsider.
Seventeen Minutes of Siege
The final 17 minutes were hell for Nigeria’s supporters as the Super Eagles held off a late Tunisian fightback to book a place in the last 16. Nigeria led the Group C encounter 3–0 through goals from Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi, and Ademola Lookman before Montassar Talbi headed in from a Hannibal Mejbri free-kick.
A late and controversial penalty, awarded after a VAR review, few could decipher, saw Ali Abdi convert in the 87th minute following a handball by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The finale was frantic. Captain Ferjani Sassi headed narrowly wide in stoppage time, and Ismaël Gharbi bobbled a volley past the post. The whole stadium was behind Tunisia.
North African Solidarity – Real and Unapologetic
This moment exposed a long-standing but often underplayed reality of African football: regional solidarity matters. In North Africa, shared Arab identity, intertwined histories, language, and cultural proximity frequently override the etiquette of neutral hosting. When Tunisia faced Nigeria on Moroccan soil, the stadium became an extension of a broader Maghreb identity.
The support was neither subtle nor accidental. It reflected a worldview in which football allegiance mirrors political, cultural, and civilizational closeness. In that equation, Nigeria, Anglophone, sub-Saharan, and culturally distant, was never going to be the sentimental favourite.
AFCON Is Never Just Football
AFCON has always been shaped by invisible forces: geography, diplomacy, power blocs, and cultural affinity. This is why host nations often enjoy more than home advantage; they benefit from emotional alignment with neighbouring or culturally linked supporters.
For Nigeria, this should not come as a surprise, but it should serve as a lesson. The Super Eagles often arrive believing pedigree alone will command respect. Yet respect in Africa is layered. It is negotiated not only through trophies but through alliances, relationships, and long-term soft-power engagement.
Friend-Enemies, Not Foes
The story did not end with the final whistle. Though Moroccans did not dance with Nigerians after the Tunisia match, as they had when Nigeria beat Tanzania, they were not hostile afterwards. Once the game ended, the tension dissolved. Smiles returned. Conversations flowed. Pictures were shared.
Morocco’s backing of Tunisia was not an act of hostility toward Nigeria; it was an act of loyalty to their own. On the terraces, they were adversaries by sentiment. Beyond the game, they were gracious hosts. And in African football, loyalty is currency.
On that night in Fès, the Moroccans reminded everyone of an old truth: in football, as in life, blood is thicker than water.
But the victory was sweet.
Sola Fanawopo, Chairman Osun Football Association, writes from Morocco
