RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco is hoping to turn admiration for its national team’s journey to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar into diplomatic capital that could secure it a bigger role in African football bodies and support for its candidacy for the organization of international tournaments.
Morocco’s exploit in Qatar, which became the first African country to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, could also become an additional weapon in Rabat’s diplomatic arsenal to obtain international support in the long-running conflict. opposes it in Western Sahara to the independence movement of the Polisario Front, supported by neighboring Algeria, say analysts.
The course of the Moroccan football team, which faces France in Doha on Wednesday, has generated great enthusiasm across Africa and the Middle East.
According to sources within the Moroccan Football Federation, this should help bolster the chances of Morocco’s bid to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and, after several failed attempts, the 2030 World Cup.
“We have stadiums ready as well as the necessary infrastructure and a national team which has gained popularity on the continent after becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals,” a source from the federation said on condition of anonymity. .
In recent years, Morocco has forged closer ties with other African football federations, supporting the training of players or offering stadiums for World Cup qualifying matches to countries in conflict.
While the immediate objective seems to be to obtain support for the organization of football tournaments, Atik Essaid, professor of foreign policy at Hassan II University in Casablanca, points out that “soft power” tactics are also part of the Rabat’s attempts to gain support in the Western Sahara conflict.
The former Spanish colony, annexed by Morocco in 1975, has been a member of the African Union since 1984, which led Morocco to withdraw from the intergovernmental organization, which it rejoined in 2017, deepening its links across the continent.
“Morocco has a comprehensive African policy combining economic, cultural, humanitarian, security and religious dimensions,” said a former Moroccan diplomat.
(Report Ahmed Eljechtimi; French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Blandine Hénault)