Morocco opens 35th Africa Cup of Nations with spectacular light show Morocco opens 35th Africa Cup of Nations tournament with spectacular light show RABAT, Morocco (AP) – Excited red-and-green-clad fans took to the stadium hours before kick-off as Morocco opened the 35th Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday. The party started the night before with a parade of fans through the capital, Rabat. Winter showers could not spoil the mood. Beninese artist Angélique Kidjo, Moroccan singer Jaylann and French-Moroccan rapper Lartiste performed the tournament’s official song for the first time during a spectacular light show for the opening ceremony on Sunday. “This will be the best Africa Cup ever!” FIFA President Gianni Infantino proclaimed in French as he stood next to a portrait of Moroccan King Mohammed VI. The Atlas Lions, as the home team is known, are among the favorites for what would be only their second African Cup title 50 years after their only success in 1976. The final is January 18 next year. They begin their campaign against island nation Comoros, a team ranked 108th in the world and making their second appearance in the competition. “It’s an excellent game, an extraordinary opportunity to get to know our team, our country,” Comoros coach Stefano Cusin said. “It’s going to be a great night of football.” No host has lost the opening game of the tournament since Burkina Faso in 1998. Morocco is the highest-ranked African team at number 11. The Atlas Lions became the first African team to reach the 2022 World Cup semi-finals, and the country has embarked on one of the most aggressive infrastructure builds in African history to establish itself as a sporting player. The Kingdom will also be a co-host of the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal. The opening match was to be played in Rabat’s renovated 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, one of nine venues in six cities built or renovated for the tournament. Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi was named among the substitutes after recovering from an ankle injury. He showed off his African Footballer of the Year trophy to fans before kick-off in the opening match. The mascot for the tournament is a lion named Assad, inspired by the barbarian lions that once roamed the mountains of North Africa. The last known photograph of a wild lion in Morocco was taken by French army photographer Marcelin Flandrin from a flight over the Atlas Mountains in 1925. Egypt was due to begin its bid for a record-extending eighth title – and Mohamed Salah’s first – against Zimbabwe in Agadir on Monday. Defending champions Ivory Coast begin their title defense against Mozambique in Marrakech on Wednesday. Senegal and five-time champions Cameroon are also among the favourites, while Algeria is the only other country besides Morocco where all its matches are sold out. The future of the biennial tournament took a turn on Saturday with the announcement that it will move to a four-year cycle to align with the FIFA calendar. ___