Morocco opted to take part in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) on Thursday despite initially stating they would not be attending owing to Algerian airspace being closed to Moroccan aircraft, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Important to highlight that Morocco have not explicitly withdrawn from the CHAN. They clearly want to highlight Algeria’s lack of cooperation, indirectly suggesting that the hosts are stopping them from taking part.#MAR🇲🇦 are supposed to play Sudan in three days…
— Benjamin Hajji (@BenjaHajji) January 12, 2023
“The Moroccan national team will travel to Algeria tomorrow to participate in the CHAN,” the ministry said.
Earlier, Algeria persisted in refusing to let the Moroccan team take a direct flight fromRabat to Constantine, the Algerian city where the competition is taking place.
Les Lions quittent l’aéroport de Rabat. pic.twitter.com/jAWnA1rk12
— SOCCER212 (@SCCR_212) January 13, 2023
Prior to the incident before the competition, the players headed to Rabat-Salé International Airport to wait for a flying authorization from Algeria, which did not arrive.
The Moroccan national team’s entire playing squad, together with the administrative and technical personnel, were forced to depart the airport since they did not receive a response.
Déclaration de Lekjaa à l’instant 🎙pic.twitter.com/z008tE8Lpn
— SOCCER212 (@SCCR_212) January 13, 2023
This was announced by the president of the Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Fouzi Lekaja, from the airport of the Moroccan capital. “It is regrettable that young players who have been preparing for months are denied participation in this African sporting event,” he said.
However, the FRMF stated “it underlines with regret that the definitive authorisation for the flight from Rabat to Constantine has unfortunately not been confirmed” just 24 hours before the event began.
The situation will definitely have an impact on the mindset of Walid Regragui’s men and they will be fuming and looking for a razor sharpe performance in reply to the incident.
𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮: Morocco became the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final 🇲🇦 #DimaMaghrib pic.twitter.com/7IKaE4M9mr
— AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 (@Qatar2023en) January 10, 2023
That was the most recent intensification in a protracted conflict fueled by the Western Sahara conflict and ties to Israel.
The Moroccan squad has won the last two African Nations Championships and created history last month when it became the first African or Arab team to ever get past the quarterfinals of a World Cup.
