By Victor Kanayo
The Moroccan Football Federation on Thursday confirmed that its team will not take part in the 2023 African Nations Championship (CHAN) scheduled for Algeria.
This was after the Algerian government rejected Morocco’s request for the team to fly there directly on Morocco’s national airline.
Algeria closed its airspace to Moroccan aircraft in September 2021 after it unilaterally severed diplomatic ties with its North African neighbour.
And with that action, all direct flights between the two countries were suspended.
Heritage Times HT had in December 2022 reported that the Morocco soccer body revealed that their team won’t participate in the 2023 CHAN, where they are expected to defend the tournament they won two times consecutively, if the Algerians remain adamant in allowing their national carrier fly directly to Constantine.
The competition is for players under the age of 23 who still play in African countries.
The tournament starts on Friday January 13 and end on February 4.
The football authorities in Rabat had written to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to say Morocco would only take part if its team could take a direct flight to Algeria with Royal Air Maroc.
Morocco’s senior national team last month became the first from an African country to reach the World Cup semi-final, raising the global profile of Moroccan football.
Algeria and Morocco are at odds over a range of issues, including the future of Western Sahara, a territory Morocco regards as its own but where Algeria backs an armed independence movement.
