{"id":3402,"date":"2023-02-10T22:42:14","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T22:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/?p=3402"},"modified":"2023-02-10T22:55:31","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T22:55:31","slug":"moroccos-proximity-with-the-last-two-afcon-hosts-fueling-her-2025-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/moroccos-proximity-with-the-last-two-afcon-hosts-fueling-her-2025-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Morocco\u2019s proximity with the last two AFCON hosts fueling her 2025 mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Moroccan football team and its fans subverted a World Cup that looked set to be a stultifying showcase for state and corporate power. From solidarity with other African nations to the celebration of Arab identity, they\u2019ve left behind an important legacy.<\/p>\n

Morocco\u2019s run in the World Cup was exhilarating. Led by coach Walid Regragui, who took over only some months ago, the Atlas Lions exceeded all expectations, defeating three former European colonial powers (Belgium, Spain, and Portugal), and acquitting themselves well in their semifinal defeat to reigning champions France.<\/p>\n

From the mass prayer sessions in Indonesia to the celebrations on the streets of Egypt and Cameroon, this team has won the hearts of millions \u2014 Africans, Arabs, Muslims, and migrants who see themselves in this team.<\/p>\n

Images that will endure: playmaker Hakim Ziyech\u2019s light-footed turns, midfielder Sofyan Amrabat \u2014 dubbed Minister of Defense \u2014 and his barreling runs, and team captain Achraf Hakimi\u2019s post-match embrace of his mother, who worked as a domestic in Madrid, Spain, while raising her children.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Achraf Hikimi celebrate against Belgium victory by kissing mum
Photo Credit: Civil Eyes<\/p><\/div>\n

But for Moroccans, it was also the Moroccan takeover of the Qatari stadiums that has captivated the world: the pulsating drums, castanets, colorful outfits, and elaborate songs. One chant has tens of thousands jumping up and down, \u201cBougez! Bougez! li ma bougash, mashi Maghribi\u201d (\u201cMove! Move! If you don\u2019t move, you\u2019re not Moroccan\u201d).<\/p>\n

The most widely circulated memes in Morocco have been clips of players and the coach talking to the press in darija (Moroccan Arabic vernacular), and all the bewilderment and hilarity that has been provoked from Western and Arab observers alike. In importing Moroccan stadium culture to Doha, this World Cup also brought hyperlocal debates about Moroccan language and national identity to the world stage.<\/p>\n

Arabic football commentary was something else, and at the World Cup, the Tunisian commentator Issam Chaouali screams for players and for the world to pay attention to obvious geopolitical change. When Cameroon scored against Brazil, he shouted \u201cYa Braziwww, ya Braziww!\u201d\u2014 then he says, \u201cMama Africa is rising.\u201d When Germany, Spain, and Brazil were eliminated, he remarked, \u201cThe moons may disappear, but there is no shortage of stars.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Moroccan team has drawn high praise of course: its rise, a sign of \u201cArab ambition\u201d and \u201cArab pride,\u201d and its triumphs, proof that \u201cimpossible is not in the Arabic dictionary.\u201d The possibility of a shared identity, language, and community soars and spreads, stirring viewers across the Arabic-speaking world.
\nAnd even Africa and beyond. . .<\/p>\n

Similar debates have taken place in social media in the World \u2014 is Morocco African or Arab? After qualifying for the semifinals, the New York Times tweeted that Morocco was the first \u201cArab team\u201d to qualify \u2014 the following day, it issued a correction that it was the first \u201cAfrican team.\u201d
\nMuch has been made of Moroccan coach Regragui\u2019s pan-Africanism. He first raised eyebrows when he told a news conference that their aim was to play the game at a European level, but with \u201cour African values.\u201d Asked a few days later whether Morocco was representing Africa or the Arab world, he prefaced his answer, \u201cwithout getting political,\u201d and then proceeded to give a nuanced response:<\/p>\n

To begin with . . . we defend Morocco and the Moroccans. . . . After that we are also African, and that is a priority . . . we hope to show that African football (\u201coften denigrated\u201d) has entered a new phase. . . . After, by necessity, because of our religion and origins and for a first World Cup set in the Middle East and the Arab world, there are people who will identify with us. Obviously, we are role models, and we hope to make them happy. If they can see us as standard-bearers, we would be happy to make them happy if we go through.<\/p>\n

After the match against Portugal, Azzedine Ounahi, the midfielder and one of the tournament\u2019s breakout stars, similarly dedicated the victory first to Africa:
\nWe\u2019ve entered into history for Africa and even for the Arabs. . . . We thank Africa that has always followed and encouraged us, and same with the Arabs.
\nFestivals, exhibits, conferences, and television documentaries celebrating the kingdom\u2019s ties to \u201cIfriqiya\u201d now abound. And it has become the norm, since Morocco\u2019s adoption of the 2011 constitution (which speaks of \u201cAfrican unity\u201d) and its return to the African Union, to describe Morocco as Arab and African in whichever order.
\nThe experiences of the indigenous labouring classes of French West and Equatorial Africa in the first two decades of the twentieth century provide us with a picture of the game\u2019s diffusion which differs somewhat from that which developed in Europe, where football\u2019s expansion was characterised by immediate accessibility and widespread opportunities for participation. However, in French North Africa, where the game was introduced around the turn of the century, the organisation of football was more advanced than in the equatorial regions and was characterised by a higher degree of mass popularity. The comparatively advanced state of the African game in the northern territories was also evidenced by the fact that Morocco and Tunisia not only had fully fledged leagues but put forward their most successful teams to compete against their counterparts from the three Algerian leagues for the North African Club Championship and the North African Cup.<\/p>\n

Former Indomitable Lion, Bertin Ebwelle explains what it meant to win the AFCON 1988 in Morocco on 27th March 1988 after the hostile reception in Egypt, two years earlier:
\n“Egypt, which had not won the AFCON since 1959, was determined to put an end to this long period in the wilderness, even if it meant using highly questionable moral methods. And we were going to find that out the hard way. On the eve of the final, we learned that there was not a single training ground available in Cairo, an argument that left the technical staff and us, the players doubtful.”<\/p>\n

“While CAF, whose headquarters, it should be noted, is based in the Egyptian capital, did not lift a finger to solve the problem, Claude Le Roy, the French coach of our team, had to organise a training session in a public garden in the midst of families. A few hours later, we were informed that Taher Abou Zeid \u2013 Egypt\u2019s best player \u2013 was no longer suspended for the final, his second yellow card having been cancelled by CAF. The Pharaohs went on to win their third title on penalties after a very tight final (0-0, 5-4 on penalties).<\/p>\n

“Claude Le Roy and most of us who had been in Egypt two years earlier still hadn\u2019t digested the methods used by the Pharaohs, with the help of CAF,” Ebwelle Bertin told kick442.com.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Ebwelle Bertin in his days as a player Photo Credit: Ebwelle Bertin Facebook<\/p><\/div>\n

The revenge of the Indomitable Lions would be brilliant, and it took place very early during the AFCON in 1988 organised in Morocco.<\/p>\n

On 14 March 1988, in Rabat, Roger Milla scored the only goal of the match, during the first match of the first round. This defeat had serious consequences on Egypt, as they were eliminated at the end of the group stage.<\/p>\n

During the final on 27 March 1988, redemption happened on the fateful day as Cameroon beat Nigeria to win their second AFCON title.<\/p>\n

A second-half penalty from Emmanuel Kunde settled the tie in Casablanca but the memories still linger in the minds of those who watched the match because of contrasting views.<\/p>\n

Henry Nwosu’s goal was disallowed and I feel it was rightly ruled out for offside. Roger Milla made a meal out the tackle that was on the edge of the box and Referee Idrissa Sarr of Mauritania awarded a penalty to Cameroon. The rest is history\u2026<\/p>\n

Morocco\u2019s historic ties to the Arab world and other African countries are strong, connected by language, faith, and suffering. And \u201cAfrica,\u201d with whom Morocco has long-neglected bonds, too, has \u2014 also because of state policy \u2014 recently emerged as a political alternative, an escape from Arab domination and erasure. It\u2019s not a surprise that tensions around these alternatives have been playing out in CAF offices, amidst the beauty of football.<\/p>\n

The Moroccan tie with Cameroon that was host of the 2021 AFCON and Egypt that Africa called home in 2019 is certainly a strong case for their quest.<\/p>\n

\n

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The Moroccan football team and its fans subverted a World Cup that looked set…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,26,139,25,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afcon","category-exclusive","category-featured","category-fifa","category-football"],"yoast_head":"\nMorocco\u2019s proximity with the last two AFCON hosts fueling her 2025 mission - KICK442 Sport News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/moroccos-proximity-with-the-last-two-afcon-hosts-fueling-her-2025-mission\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Morocco\u2019s proximity with the last two AFCON hosts fueling her 2025 mission - 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