Online Reporter
AS the curtain comes down on the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the temptation, especially from many Zimbabwean football followers is always to focus on who lifted the trophy, who disappointed and who overachieved.
Yet to do so would be to miss the most important lessons from AFCON Morocco that extend far beyond the pitch and speak directly to how the game must be organised, managed and respected if it is to truly progress.
They are the lessons from which Zimbabwe’s flagship sport — football — and those involved with it ought to learn.
Morocco has staged a demonstration of what happens when football is treated as a serious national asset rather than an occasional spectacle. For Zimbabwe and the COSAFA region, the biggest takeaway from AFCON is not tactical sophistication or individual brilliance but the power of systems, planning and institutional discipline.
We noted that the most striking feature of AFCON Morocco was organisation. Their level of efficiency was clearly a result of years of prior planning not the kind that appears suddenly when a major tournament arrives. It was the visible result of years of deliberate planning, investment and coordination.
From transport logistics to accreditation, from security to scheduling, every moving part appeared to understand its role. There was no confusion about authority, no public scrambling for last-minute fixes, no sense of improvisation under pressure.
The lesson here is simple but profound: major tournaments do not expose weaknesses — they reveal them. If football governance is fragile in normal times, it will fracture under continental scrutiny. Conversely, when domestic systems are strong, hosting or participating in major tournaments becomes an extension of routine excellence rather than an extraordinary burden.
For Zimbabwean football, and for sport in the country this underscores the urgent need to build governance capacity that functions effectively every day, not just when the spotlight arrives.
Another standout lesson from Morocco was the treatment of accommodation as a performance variable rather than a logistical afterthought.
Team hotels were clearly selected with intent — close to training venues, secure, private and designed to support recovery, nutrition and mental focus. There was a visible understanding that what happens off the pitch directly affects what unfolds on it.
In contrast, African teams have too often arrived at tournaments fatigued before a ball is kicked, navigating long commutes, inconsistent facilities and poorly coordinated arrangements. The Moroccan example shows that player welfare is a competitive necessity. For Zimbabwe and COSAFA member associations, this means rethinking accommodation and travel not as costs to be minimised, but as investments in performance, credibility and player longevity.
The quality and consistency of playing and training facilities provided another powerful lesson. Morocco’s stadiums and auxiliary venues communicated respect for the game. Pitches were uniform in quality, training facilities mirrored match venues in professionalism, and support spaces — from medical rooms to warm-up zones — were fit for elite competition.
Crucially, these were not “white elephant” structures built for one event. They were designed for sustained use by clubs, academies and communities long after AFCON ends. This approach challenges a familiar African pattern where infrastructure is driven by prestige rather than sporting logic. Zimbabwe and COSAFA must resist the urge to chase symbolic projects and instead focus on establishing minimum national and regional facility standards that are realistic, enforceable and sustainable.
Equally instructive was how infrastructure served football, rather than the other way around. Transport routes were planned around team schedules, not VIP movements. Training bases were located close to hotels. Security protocols balanced safety with efficiency. The needs of the competition dictated decisions, not external interests.
This is a critical lesson for a region where sporting events are sometimes overwhelmed by ceremonial priorities. Football thrives when operational decisions are led by technical requirements. COSAFA, in particular, has an opportunity to codify this principle by developing regional hosting guidelines that prioritise athlete welfare, match integrity and operational flow above all else.
Perhaps the most underrated lesson from AFCON Morocco for Zimbabwe lay in the details. Volunteers were well-trained and confident in their roles. Signage was clear and consistent. Accreditation systems worked. Matchday coordination between security, medical teams and officials was seamless. None of these elements grab headlines, yet together they form the foundation of credibility.
Football’s reputation is built in the margins. When small things work, trust grows — among players, officials, sponsors, broadcasters and supporters. For Zimbabwean football, which continues to rebuild trust domestically and internationally, under Nqobile Magwizi’s leadership, which was elected in January last year, mastering these “invisible” aspects of administration may be just as important as producing talent on the pitch.
Beyond infrastructure and logistics, AFCON Morocco also demonstrated how a tournament can function as a learning laboratory. The event created structured interaction between local administrators, CAF officials, international suppliers, stadium designers, broadcast specialists and security experts. Knowledge transfer was not incidental; it was embedded in the process.
We believe that this is where Zimbabwe must be deliberate and bold. Participation in continental tournaments should never be limited to players, coaches and administrators alone. Future delegations must intentionally include technical and sport-specific experts — facility managers, turf specialists, medical practitioners, broadcast technicians and operations professionals — tasked not with enjoying the spectacle, but with studying it.
Such experts should spend their days visiting training bases, engaging stadium designers, meeting suppliers, observing control rooms and learning from administrators who have successfully delivered at scale. Their mandate should be clear: acquire knowledge, document best practice and return home to share it in structured, practical ways that inform policy, planning and implementation.
Even more importantly, this learning must be institutionalised. Reports must not gather dust. Workshops must follow. Standards must be updated. In this way, AFCON becomes not just a competition Zimbabwe attends, but a catalyst for reform and growth across the football ecosystem.
The era of holidaying at major tournaments must come to an end. Just as the players will be busy on the pitch, so should the officials that go with them.
AFCON Morocco has reminded us that football excellence is organised, intentional and cumulative.
The challenge for Zimbabwe and the COSAFA region is not to replicate Morocco’s resources, but to emulate its mindset: respect the game, plan rigorously, learn deliberately and build systems that endure beyond the final whistle.
If those lessons are embraced, future tournaments will test our ambitions but if we have done the groundwork right, then they will also confirm our readiness.
