Morocco head coach Walid Regragui has declared he will resign if the Atlas Lions fail to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil — turning the tournament into a career-defining mission.
Speaking on Spanish football programme El Chiringuito, the 2022 World Cup semi-finalist made his intentions clear, saying his continued leadership of the national team hinges entirely on lifting the trophy.
“If we don’t win the AFCON, I will leave. That’s the challenge I’m setting myself,” Regragui said.
“In this job, if you don’t win, decisions are made fast. Not winning the next AFCON would mean the end of my contract with the national team.”
The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025, which Morocco will host between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026, has already been billed as a defining moment for a golden generation of Moroccan players.
The North African nation last won the tournament in 1976, and public pressure to end the drought is mounting.
Regragui acknowledged the weight of expectation, stating: “Moroccans deserve this title. The passion for football is incredible here. Not a day goes by without someone stopping me to say, ‘Coach, we must win the AFCON.’”
Although Regragui’s current contract runs through the 2026 FIFA World Cup — co-hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico — he made it clear that continental failure would not be acceptable, despite Morocco’s recent strong form.
The Atlas Lions are unbeaten in official matches since June 2023, and need just one point to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Their resurgence under Regragui includes a historic semi-final finish at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and a quarter-final run at the most recent AFCON.
Looking ahead, the coach expressed hopes of guiding Morocco to a seventh World Cup appearance, or eighth if including their automatic spot in 2030, when the country will co-host football’s biggest tournament alongside Spain and Portugal.
With AFCON 2025 approaching, Regragui’s bold statement has raised the stakes — turning the home tournament into a make-or-break moment in his tenure.
