The Moroccan women’s basketball team received, on Wednesday, its Israeli counterpart, in a friendly match, in the city of Sale, near the capital, Rabat. It is the first sports meeting between the two countries since the normalization of their diplomatic relations, but with a limited public presence.
The organizers chose to send invitations to regarding two hundred fans, including several players and basketball players, to follow this meeting, which took place in a covered hall amid strict security measures.
This is the first sports meeting between the two countries since Morocco and Israel resumed diplomatic relations in late 2020.
The match ended with the victory of Moroccan women over their Israeli counterparts (62-58).
The match came the day following the basketball federations in the two countries signed a cooperation agreement that seeks to “exchange experiences to develop Moroccan basketball,” as the head of the Moroccan Basketball Federation, Mustafa Orach, told AFP, noting that “other matches in other categories will be held in the future.”
The Moroccan News Agency (MAP) quoted Minister of Education and Sports Chakib Benmoussa as saying that this agreement “is in line with the two countries’ desire to build the future within the framework of multi-dimensional cooperation.”
“The conduct of this match, in and of itself, is the most important,” the president of the Israel Basketball Association, Amiram Halevy, told AFP.
Regarding the selection of a limited audience to attend the meeting, Halevy added, “It is no secret that relations between Israel and Arab countries still raise a lot of sensitivity, but we are not politicians. We came here to play basketball.”
Israel and Morocco restored diplomatic relations in December 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords, a process of normalization between Israel and several Arab countries, with the support of the previous US administration under President Donald Trump.
Although the Palestinian cause historically arouses a lot of sympathy in Morocco, the calls of bodies in solidarity with the Palestinians to protest once morest normalization do not receive a wide response.
One of those invited to attend the match, a man in his fifties called Abdel Majid, said: “I came here to support the Moroccan national team. We are here for sports. Welcome to the Israelis.”
Cheb Abdel Karim, a basketball player for the Royal Army Club in Rabat, added: “I came to support our women’s team, regardless of the identity of the opponent. For me, this is just a sports match.”
Since the resumption of their diplomatic relations, Morocco and Israel have signed several cooperation agreements in the military and economic fields, as well as culture and sports.
The two countries also launched direct airlines between them, facilitating, in particular, the travel of Israeli tourists of Moroccan origin to the Kingdom, following they were forced to pass through European countries.
On the other hand, Rabat expressed its strong condemnation of “the attacks of the Israeli occupation forces”, following the violent clashes that took place in Jerusalem in April.
