With a memorable victory over Spain in the penalty shootout, the Moroccan team became the revelation of the 2022 Qatar World Cup by qualifying for the quarterfinals. They had already won Group F, achieving two wins and a draw. Not only did they beat Canada 2-1 on the last date, but they also previously had a key 2-0 win against the Belgian team, who ended up going home earlier than expected. The celebrations of the large Moroccan community in the streets of Brussels and the Netherlands then culminated in incidents and police repression.

Morocco overcomes the biggest bump in its football history, 36 years ago. In Mexico 1986, also in Group F, two draws with Poland and England and a victory against Portugal had allowed them to advance to the next round, although they fell 1-0 against Germany in the round of 16 (goal by Lothar Matthaus, three minutes from time). final).

In this note we are going to briefly examine the background of the new sporting feat of Morocco and its political-social framework.

For much of the 20th century, Morocco was subjected to de facto colonial rule by France and Spain. It was not until 1956 that it achieved its independence, in a context of strong anti-colonial struggles in North Africa. Over the decades, opposition movements to the crown, headed by Hassan II, also developed, which were brutally repressed. Only after his death, in 1999, the monarch would be succeeded to the throne by his eldest son, Mohammed VI, who rules to this day.

Since the 1980s, the crown has implemented the policies of "structural adjustment" and massive privatizations of the Monetary Fund. The economic crisis unleashed new riots. Rabat became even closer to the great powers, as a non-NATO ally (a status that Menem also negotiated in Argentina) and with the signing of free trade agreements with Europe and the United States.

The impoverishment of Morocco led to waves of migration to the old continent. In the case of Spain, citizens of Moroccan nationality were just over 100,000 in 1998 and in 2021 they reached almost one million. In Belgium, they are the largest foreign community, where they suffer discrimination, unemployment and job insecurity.

This historical context is necessary to understand one of the most outstanding data of the Moroccan national team: 14 of its 26 members were born outside the country. Among them, one of the figures of the squad, Hakim Ziyech, originally from the Netherlands, scorer of the first goal against Canada. The coach, Walid Regragui, is the son of Moroccan parents, but a native of the outskirts of Paris.

Moroccan football has a history linked to national problems. The Raja of Casablanca, the most populous city, nicknamed the "people's team" for its ascendancy over the poorest sectors, was founded in 1949 by members of the resistance to the French protectorate, with the support of the unions. He has 12 national titles and also several international scrolls. Its arch-rival, Wydad from Casablanca, with which it currently plays superclassics in front of around 80,000 spectators, was born in 1937 as a club for Moroccans, when most were run by settlers. He is the most successful: 22 awards. In the Throne Cup dispute, which is played by direct elimination (in the style of the Argentine Cup), they are more even, with 8 and 9 stars, respectively. The hegemony is held in this case by the FAR Rabat,

Although Moroccan football has developed in recent decades, the magnetism of the big leagues is revealed in the fact that only 3 of the 26 members of the national team currently play for a local club (all of them at Wydad Casablanca). The rest play in European leagues and, to a lesser extent, in some of the Middle East (Qatar, Saudi Arabia). Yassine Bounou, “Bono”, the goalkeeper who saved two Spanish penalties, is Sevilla's starting goalkeeper.

The North African team's World Cup performance, which includes highly symbolic wins against Belgium and Spain, has sparked strong enthusiasm both at home and abroad. We have already mentioned the incidents that occurred in Europe. In the case of Morocco, according to Spanish media, the streets are half-empty and the cafes fill up with people to watch the games. There are also large celebrations in the streets.

In political terms, however, perhaps the most significant event is the show of support for the Palestinian people on the pitches, which encompasses all the Arab fans. In addition to the display of the green, black and red tricolor flag, according to the Spanish newspaper El País (1/12), in the 48th minute of the World Cup matches, many Arab and North African spectators paid homage to the Palestinian people in the stands, evoking the catastrophic year 1948 in which the State of Israel was founded and hundreds of thousands expelled from their lands.

Inside Morocco, this fervor is also present, as witnessed by a moving video circulating on social networks in which a multitude of fans of the Rajah of Casablanca chant in unison the beautiful "Dear Palestine".

The contrast with the political regime could not be greater: the Moroccan state is one of the first in the Arab world to reestablish relations with Israel , at the end of 2020. In return, Zionism pledged its support for Rabat in the oppression of the people of the Sahara. Occidental, territory occupied since 1975. The Saharawi people, like those of the Rif, are waging battle.

Mohammed VI's regime will undoubtedly try to take advantage of the selected team's sporting success. He needs to do it to hide his collaboration with imperialism, whose most notable expression is the containment and repression of migrants on the border with Spain.

The Moroccan masses, who staged important protests during the Arab Spring of 2011-2012, and today celebrate the historic moment of their selection, will know how to see that the enemy is also at home, even if he camouflage himself with the same shirt.

Source: FIFA.