CHAN
CAF and FIFA Council member, Fouzi Lekjaa cries foul over Algeria ‘blockade’ of Morocco
Fouzi Lekjaa, the President of Morocco’s Football Federation (FRMF) who is also an executive committee member of CAF as well as FIFA Council member has condemned the denial of Morocco to feature in the African nations Championship (CHAN) as a “shame.”
Lekjaa emphasized that Morocco’s U23 football team has been preparing for the tournament for six months.
“The national team seeks to defend its title…As you see the national team is well prepared and arrived at the Rabat-Sale airport ready to travel to take part. But we have not obtained permission until now,” Lekjaa told reporters at the airport.
Morocco’s football delegation arrived at the airport this (Friday) morning, pending an official response from Algerian authorities.
In December 2022, Morocco’s FRMF announced that it has submitted a request to Algerian authorities and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to secure authorization that would allow the national football team to travel from Rabat through a Royal Air Maroc flight directly to Constantine.
FRMF’s president explained that the request is legitimate as Royal Air Maroc is the official carrier for the national team.
The president stressed that Morocco will not take part in the tournament if the request is not met.
Lekjaa’s remarks today came in conjunction with the arrival of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President of CAF Patrice Motsepe, who will both attend the draw for the FIFA Club World Cup.
The draw started today at 12:00 p.m. at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Sale, near Rabat.
Photos from the event show Infantino and Motsepe in the waiting room with the U23 team, which is still pending a response from Algerian authorities.
Several Algerian officials have hinted at their country’s rejection of Morocco’s request.
Recently, the head of the CHAN organizing committee Rachid Oukali claimed that the host country is not responsible for ensuring direct travel routes for the participating teams.
Morocco responded to Oukali’s claims, stressing that the national team is not awaiting a special flight from Algeria but for permission to allow a Royal Air Maroc to carry the Atlas Lions to Constantine.
However, Algeria’s Sports Minister Abderezak Sebag hinted at his country’s rejection of Morocco’s request, saying that Algiers’ sovereignty is “above all considerations.”
Algeria closed its airspace and cut ties with Morocco in 2021 over unproven allegations of Moroccan interference in Algerian affairs.
Ghana and Nigeria are paired together for the third time in the qualifying series for the African Nations Championship. They had met in the 2009 and the 2022 series. The aggregate results were in Ghana’s favour.
First in the 2009 qualifiers, Nigeria squandered a 2-0 first-half lead in Accra and lost 3-2. But going into the return leg played in Calabar, they could not score a goal that could have seen them through on away goal rule as they ended the match 0-0.
In the last edition, Nigeria for the 2023 edition, Nigeria lost 2-0 in Accra but levelled up in Abuja after a late 2-0 win. But in the eventual penalty shoot-out, the Nigerian team lost 5-4.
Will they overcome Ghana this time?
There will be no qualifying series for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in North Africa. This is sequel to the withdrawal of Algeria and Egypt.
With the region entitled to three teams, the remaining three – Morocco, Tunisia and Libya qualify automatically.
The age-long rivalry has again been rekindled as the draw for the 2025 African Nations Championship has pitched Ghana and Nigeria together.
Both teams have a rivalry that dates back to 1951 and will have a confrontation that determines which country will qualify for the tournament which is opened only to domestic players.
It is also a measure of the relative strength of the domestic leagues of the countries. Ghana and Nigeria will play just in the second round of the West Africa Zone B qualifier while Togo and Benin will the first round and the winner play against Niger Republic.
The rivalry of Nigeria and Ghana has gone beyond sports, especially in football, It extends to the culinary industry as each claims to be better in the cooking of Jollof rice, hence the ‘Jollof Rice’ controversy.
In another West Africa Zone B qualifiers, Cote d’Ivoire will face Burkina Faso. The first round of qualifiers will be played on the weekend of 25 – 27 October and 01 – 03 November 2024, with the second round confirmed for 20 – 22 December and 27 – 29 December 2024.
Three nations qualify for the tournament from each zone except the East, where one country qualifies with co-hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Finals to be played from Feb 1-28, 2025 in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Kampala.
North Region
Libya, Morocco and Tunisia qualify automatically
West A region
First Round
- Sierra Leone v Liberia
Second Round
- Sierra Leone or Liberia v Senegal (holders)
Mauritania v Mali
Guinea v Guinea-Bissau
West B region
First Round
Togo v Benin
Second Round
Togo or Benin v Niger
Ivory Coast v Burkina Faso
Ghana v Nigeria
Central region
Second Round
Equatorial Guinea v Congo Brazzaville
Central African Republic v Cameroon
Chad v Democratic Republic of Congo
East region
First Round
Burundi v Somalia
Ethiopia v Eritrea
Sudan v Tanzania (co-hosts)
South Sudan v Kenya (co-hosts)
Djibouti v Rwanda
Second Round
Burundi or Somalia v Uganda (co-hosts)
Ethiopia or Eritrea v Sudan or Tanzania
South Sudan or Kenya v Djibouti or Rwanda
South region
First Round
Zimbabwe v Eswatini
Lesotho v Namibia
Second Round
Zimbabwe or Eswatini v Madagascar
Lesotho or Namibia v Angola
Mozambique v Zambia
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