The Best New Commemorative Banknote award was presented to Bank Al-Maghrib was awarded for its new commemorative 100 dirham banknote, issued to celebrating the 35th Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) which took place December to January in Rabat, Morocco.

The commemorative banknote – which has legal tender status – was designed to demonstrate the Kingdom’s commitment to sports, highlighting and celebrating its new sports infrastructure. The obverse features a portrait of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Kingdom’s coat of arms, the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex, the map of Africa, a Moroccan arabesque motif, and a stylised football.

The note’s reverse depicts the name of the issuing institution – in both Latin and Tifinagh script – and shows an interior view of the Sports Complex, with silhouettes of players in action and a football decorated with the map of Africa.

It incorporates several security features, including a 5mm wide Galaxy® gold-to-green colour shifting micro-mirrors security thread from Louisenthal. The registered thread appears in three windows. A five-pointed star is depicted in the centre window, whilst the numeral 100 and DH in the top and bottom windows alternate (or flip) when the note is tilted.

The denomination numeral, featured using SPARK Openform, matches the colours of the thread and displays a star design alongside the colour shift.

Other features include a stylised football printed with SPARK Flow Openform, inside which is a map of Africa, see-through register, security fibres that fluoresce in three colours, and motifs with tactile relief to assist the visually impaired, in addition to microtext.

Design and production of the banknote, and an accompanying commemorative 250 dirham silver coin, were conducted by Bank Al-Maghrib’s own banknote printing and minting works, Dar As-Sikkah.