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The Moroccan Football Federation linked its participation in the African Cup of Nations finals for local players scheduled in Algeria, with a direct flight from the capital, Rabat, to Constantine, hosting the “Atlas Lions” matches. This Moroccan demand comes in light of the closure of Algerian airspace to Moroccan aircraft for more than a year, once morest the background of the severance of diplomatic relations between the two neighboring countries.
union stipulated Moroccan Football to participate in the Nations Cup finals Africa For the local players scheduled in Algeria, with a direct flight from the capital, Rabat, to Constantine, hosting the “Atlas Lions” matches.
This Moroccan request comes in light of the closure of Algerian airspace to Moroccan aircraft for more than a year.
The Moroccan Federation of the game stated in a statement following a meeting of the Executive Office on Tuesday that it had sent a letter to the African Union regarding “respecting the terms of the campaign book to host the African Championships, especially with regard to facilitating the conditions of the participating teams, as it demanded that the national team travel to the city of Constantine, which will host the matches of the Moroccan elite in This tournament is through a direct flight from the city of Rabat and by a private plane of Royal Air Maroc, the official carrier of the national teams.
And the statement added, “In the event that this was refused, the administrative office decided unanimously not to participate in this tournament,” which it decided to play with the under-23 team instead of the local team that won its title in the last two versions in 2018 at home and 2020 in Cameroon.
The tournament for local players will be held from January 13th to February 4th in Algeria. Morocco fell into a third group that includes Sudan, Madagascar and Ghana.
diplomatic dispute
Algeria closed its airspace on September 22, 2021 to all Moroccan civil and military aircraft, following severing diplomatic relations with Rabat.
A diplomatic dispute has been going on between the two countries for decades over the fate of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony located on the Atlantic coast, with an area of 266 thousand square kilometers and rich in phosphates, and its coastline extending along a thousand kilometers rich in fish.
The UN considers the former Spanish colony a “non-self-governing territory” in the absence of a final settlement.
France 24/AFP
