Morocco says direct flight to Algeria condition to participate in African Nations Championship

Morocco's football federation has stipulated that it would only take part in an African football tournament in Algeria - with which it currently has no diplomatic ties - if its team was allowed to take a direct flight there.

Sports

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

28 December, 2022

Morocco were the 2021 CHAN winners, claiming the title for a second time [Getty/archive]

Morocco on Tuesday said it would only participate in a football tournament in Algeria if its national team took a direct flight there, as Algerian airspace is still closed off to flights from the neighbouring kingdom.

Four Algerian cities are set to host the African Nations Championship (CHAN) for its 2022 edition between 13 January and 4 February next year.

The tournament - which Morocco won in 2021 for a second time - was originally scheduled from 10 July to 1 August this year but moved to 2023, due to other tournaments being rescheduled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) said in a statement it had written to the Confederation of African Football calling for the host nation, Algeria, to respect the terms and conditions of the championship with regards to participating teams.

FRMF demanded that Morocco's players travel directly to Algeria’s Constantine from the Moroccan capital, Rabat, via national carrier Royal Air Maroc.

It said it would not participate in the tournament if its request was rejected.

Morocco's recent performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar stunned spectators, making history as the first African and Arab nation to reach the semi-finals.

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Algeria closed its airspace to all Moroccan planes in September last year due to what it called "provocations and hostile practices" by Morocco, only a month after cutting all diplomatic ties with its neighbour.

Morocco has called the severing of ties "completely unjustified" and said the decision was based on "false, even absurd pretexts".

The two North African nations have been in dispute for decades over the Western Sahara territory, which Rabat controls most of. Algeria backs the Polisario Front.

Tensions also boiled when Morocco established ties with Israel in December 2020, which Algeria does not recognise.