Populous-Designed Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium Set For Afcon Showpiece
The 68,700-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, has become an iconic centrepiece of the African Cup of Nations tournament. This Sunday (18th Jan) it will play host to the final of the 2025 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations between hosts Morocco and Senegal, champions in 2021.
Designed by Populous, the global leader in sports and entertainment design, the stadium opened in September 2025. Its exterior features a unique parametrically designed façade with an integrated lighting system, designed by Lamalif Group, that creates unique animated visual displays across the whole stadium exterior.
The design of the bowl places a premium on acoustics and atmosphere to amplify the passion of the fans, with stands placed as close to the pitch as possible, amplifying crowd energy into a sonic wall.
“The Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium is the new jewel of international football and one of the great stadiums, not just in Morocco, but across all Africa and beyond,” said, Populous Senior Principal François Clement.
“It delivers a legacy impact of world-class amenities, accessibility improvements for local and international fans, enhanced fan experience and increased revenues.
“Leveraging our parametric design expertise across multiple Populous teams enabled us to create our most ambitious stadium façade to date for this incredible stadium and we have been proud to see it become an iconic symbol that has lit up AFCON and Morocco itself.”
Stadium Façade
The façade of the stadium uses parametric design that draws inspiration both from the interlaced palm leaves lining Rabat’s great boulevards, and from Morocco’s great artisanal tradition, the ‘Point de Fez’ embroidery and traditional ornamentation.
Its golden, shimmering profile rises from the eucalyptus forest of the city’s green belt – the southern lungs of Rabat – representing Morocco’s spirit of innovation and technological strength as it opens toward the Atlantic.
Covering 100,000 m², the façade is composed of 19,200 champagne-coloured aluminium triangles, each with their own unique dimensions.
At sunset, the facade transforms into a giant animated screen, thanks to an integrated video lighting system featuring 70 km of LED pixel bars capable of displaying up to 60 frames per second.
Fully programmable, the lighting scenarios can be synchronized in real time with music, screens or key moments of sporting events, creating spectacular and immersive light shows.
Stadium Bowl
The bowl is the beating heart of the Moulay Abdellah Stadium, designed to connect Moroccan supporters’ immense passion with the action on the pitch.
A vast open concourse to the south leads into a steep, two-tiered 23,000 capacity ‘Kop’ stand, one of the largest fan sections in Africa and Europe. The two superposed tiers, where the upper tier cantilevers eight metres above the lower tier, create a breathtaking impression of floating over the field, directly overlooking the goal.
This dual-tiered south Kop serves as a ‘loudspeaker’ for supporter passion, facing the pitch, the players, and the other stands.
The West Stand hosts VVIP, VIP, skyboxes, and lounges, centred on the Royal Box, while the East Stand offers a versatile mix of lounges and skyboxes over three tiers.
Skyboxes on Level 2 form a U-shaped ring around the pitch, offering optimised views both of the pitch and of the vibrant South Kop stand.
The overall design ensures an electric stadium atmosphere, enhancing the fan experience at every level.
Images: Lamalif & Populous
