Achraf Hakimi Presents CAF POTY Award At Rabat, Thanks Fans For 'Atmosphere' During AFCON Opener | Watch

Last Updated:December 22, 2025, 16:57 IST

Hakimi, who was named the CAF Player of the Year, presented the accolade to adoring fans at the Stade Prince Moulhy Abdallah ahead of Morocco's win over Comoros.

Achraf Hakimi. (X)

Moroccan superstar Achraf Hakimi, who was named the CAF Player of the Year, presented the accolade to adoring fans at the Stade Prince Moulhy Abdallah on Monday ahead of the team’s African Cup of Nations curtain-raiser against Comoros.

Hakimi, who returned to the national team training just a day ahead of the opener due to his recovery from an ankle sprain, was an unused sub in the Atlas Lions’ commanding 2-0 win over Comoros.

“A strong start to the competition. Thank you for the love and for the amazing atmosphere tonight," he said following the triumph.

“It is a good start to the competition for us, although we are not getting carried away," Morocco head coach Regragui said.

“Mali will be a different match. They have a lot of top-level players, and maybe we will have less possession, so it will be a real test for us both," he added.

Regragui, who led Morrocco to the best ever finish for an African nation at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, stated that he isn’t up to take any risks with the deployment of star full-back and lauded the efforts of Noussair Mazraoui who put in a shift agaisnt Comoros.

We need Hakimi because he is the best player in Africa and one of the best in the world, and no team can afford to be without their best player, but Mazraoui is a fantastic player," Regragui said.

“He has different qualities to Achraf, although I think Achraf would have helped us today.

“We didn’t want to take a risk with Achraf. We are being very careful with him so we will see how he is in the next 48 hours to see if he can start against Mali," he stated.

News sports football Achraf Hakimi Presents CAF POTY Award At Rabat, Thanks Fans For 'Atmosphere' During AFCON Opener | Watch

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