Incidentally, I discovered Morocco the week they reached the final of the CAN in 2004 and almost missed my plane!
My first CAN in Morocco
We landed in Agadir late on the evening of February 6, and then headed straight for Ouarzazate to do my first “southern Moroccan loop”, before returning to Taroudant on February 14, sleeping in Agadir and setting off again the following afternoon.
This was the 11th participation for Morocco, which had only won the cup once before, in 1976, and which has only won the cup once so far. In the final group stage, Morocco finished ahead of Guinea, Nigeria and Egypt.
Morocco found themselves in Group D, facing Nigeria, Benin and South Africa. When they beat Algeria 3-1 on February 8, we were on our way to Todra gorges, one of the places I literally fell in love with, falling asleep in the evening facing the rock face overlooking my bedroom window, I thought I was in Dune's Sietch Tabr!
On February 11th, Morocco beat Mali 4-0, and my future husband began to get restless. We were really far away from everything, so at the Berber campsite in Mezgarne, he managed to steal us away to watch the match in the village…
And so, on February 14th, we're in Taroudant. Morocco is going to lose 2-1 to Tunisia. I don’t know Morocco very well yet, but apart from the hot days of Ramadan, I’ll never again see a souk as empty as this one.
And why did I almost miss my plane? Because of the crowds who came to welcome the players, and the King of Morocco who came to congratulate them as they got off the plane. It took over three hours to get to the airport, one of my worst traffic jams in Morocco!
What has changed between 2004 and 2024
The CAN 2024 (which is actually the #CAN2023 but will be played in 2024) has nothing to do with it. Firstly, because it was supposed to take place in 2023 and not in this series on my twenty years in Morocco (since 2013, alternating with the African Nations Championship, which Morocco won in 2018 and 2020).
First of all, there are 6 groups instead of 4! Morocco’s opponents are not at all the same (Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia). But the real changes lie elsewhere.
Internet et IPTv pour regarder le foot
Secondly, technical means have changed. When I was in Taroudant, the Internet in Morocco was still very slow and not very widespread. For years I worked with a small USB modem stick, and all we had was 3G.
Today it’s totally different. Although last weekend I experienced a “but where’s the connection” episode, it was in the middle of the countryside… in the city, between fiber, 4G and IPTv everyone can watch a match, legally or not.
But that doesn’t stop Moroccans from meeting up in cafés to commune as a group and thrill to every goal, attempted goal, etc…. which allows them to participate!
Betting on the results
We forget that betting is haram in Islam, since “risk” must not be remunerated, it’s God’s share. The Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports also blithely forgets this, allowing Moroccans to bet on races (including French races) all year round. But the sports betting aspect of the website is hidden behind the “Sports” section.
Online, Marocaine des Jeux offers applications that allow you to follow the scores, but online sports betting is isolated on another domain name, quite discreetly, which you can’t access without having to make numerous clicks! And to register, you have to be in Morocco, as they ask for a +212 telephone number!
For Moroccans of the World, it’s also much easier to follow the matches and feel at one with their country! Like everyone else, they now have access to all channels via TV packages and can follow the Moroccan commentators live. Or, if their schedules are really out of sync, they can simply check the latest Moroccan league results on Sportytrader or similar sites.
Of course, bets will only be placed on the number of goals scored, not on whether Morocco will win or lose, so as not to give the Atlas Lions the evil eye!
And believe me, having experienced the 2007 Rugby World Cup and the exploits of the XV de France far from any French supporters, in a country that couldn’t give a damn about rugby, being able to vibrate in unison, even from a distance, is important!
The “World Cup” effect
Let’s talk about the World Cup. The one in which Morocco reached the final, thrilling a whole continent that it represented, a whole world beyond the African continent.
So it was possible! And Morocco praised the players and the coach, Walid Regragui, for his know-how and coaching skills. The fervor that existed at the time is something that made me love soccer – which I still don’t understand, let’s be honest.
That effect works for all Moroccans. Since we came so close to winning the World Cup, it would be unthinkable this year not to win the ACN.
je suis plus stressé par Real vs ATM de demain que par mountakhab aujourd'hui. Pas parce que je suis moins marocain que vous autres les stressés, mais parce que j'ai confiance en Regragui.
— usain (@us_ain) January 17, 2024
La meilleure CAN de l’histoire ♥️ #CAN2023
— Hatimuuus© (@Hatimuuus) January 23, 2024
Will Morocco win the CAN?
I don’t know anything about it. Of course Dima Maghreb, but I have no expertise and no taste for bets of this kind.
https://twitter.com/TelQuelOfficiel/status/1745068981348647354
What I do know is that the team is not the same, the opponents are not the same, and there are some very good footballers in Africa.
Morocco had an easy first game on January 17, beating Tanzania 3-0. Already on X (which was called Twitter in 2004), we’re worried:
It’s a tense time, with a coach sacked in the middle of the Cup for defamatory remarks about the Moroccan Federation, and tensions between Regragui and Mbemba….
With the match against the DRC on January 21, it’s not so easy, 1-1, with a long stoppage of play due to a player being knocked down. You can feel it!
https://twitter.com/2MInteractive/status/1749357689568739607
In short, the show is as much about sport as it is about people.
There’s still one match left, tonight at 8pm, against Zambia, and then it’s on to the knockout stages. Morocco are sure to qualify, so the stakes aren’t too high, and the atmosphere will still be tranquil.
Finally, I have one last reason to be interested in the CAN: Bouchra Karboubi, the first woman from “North Africa and the Arab world” to referee a CAN men’s international match. A beautiful story of a woman who became a referee to be able to live her passion for soccer, when it was “hachouma” to play with men… but whistling them is fine!
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