🔴 South Africa dethrones Morocco and clinches its first U20 AFCON title!

The South African U20 national team made football history by capturing the U20 Africa Cup of Nations crown for the very first time. In the final, played on Sunday, May 18 at Cairo International Stadium, the "Bafana Bafana" edged Morocco 1-0.

The only goal of the match came from Gomolemo Kekana, the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder, in the 70th minute. With a thunderous strike from outside the box, he stunned the Moroccan keeper and found the back of the net. Cameroonian referee Abdo Mfeiri officiated the match.

South Africa lifts its maiden U20 AFCON trophy

South Africa delivered a stunning tournament run, playing seven matches with a record of five wins, one draw, and just a single defeat. In the group stage, they bested Tanzania (1-0) and Sierra Leone (4-1), drew with Zambia (1-1), and narrowly lost to Egypt (0-1).

In the knockout rounds, the South Africans took down DR Congo (1-0) in the quarter-finals and repeated the feat against Nigeria in the semis by the same scoreline.

This edition of the U20 AFCON sees South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, and Morocco all secure qualification for the U20 World Cup, to be held in Chile from September 27 to October 19, 2025.

This triumph stands as South Africa's greatest achievement in the history of the competition. Previously, their best finish came back in 1997, when they ended as runners-up to Ghana's golden generation.

The final drew several major figures from African football, including Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhy, Egyptian FA president Hany Abou Rida, CAF president Patrice Motsepe, and his vice-president Fouzi Lekjaa, who is also head of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.

Also read: U20 AFCON: Ghana's unfortunate record!

Mohamed Rek |

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Mohamed Rek- sports content writer with over 10 years of experience creating football content in Arabic and French for platforms such as Foot Africa and Starafrica, combining accuracy, creativity, and audience engagement.