Morocco’s decision to reverse boycott a major boost for African Nations Championships

It was just last month that Morocco were the deserved toast of the World Cup after reaching the semifinals and pushing then reigning champions France all the way before bowing out.

It was the best ever performance by an Arab or African team. For that month in Qatar, the Atlas Lions were in dreamland, as was much of the region.

There was even some pride at the home of their fierce football rivals Algeria.

Now, however, it is back to the everyday reality of football logistics and politics in Africa.

A major controversy looked likely after Morocco on Thursday withdrew from the African Nations Championships (CHAN), the seventh edition of the tournament that will kick off in Algiers on Friday.

But a change of heart in Rabat means the team will now take part in the competition, starting with a clash against Sudan on Sunday.

Morocco have been drawn in Group C where they will also face Madagascar and Ghana. After winning the last two tournaments in 2018 and 2020, the team is one of the favorites. The competition is reserved for under-23 players who are in action for clubs that belong to the league of their country, meaning the likes of Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech are ineligible to attend.

For a while, it did look as if no Moroccans would be going there at all.

Relations between Morocco and Algeria had been strained for some time due to a dispute over the Western Sahara region, with the land border between the two countries closed since 1994.

In September 2021, a month after breaking off diplomatic relations, Algeria then closed its airspace to flights from its North African neighbor and that was the reason behind the initial decision by Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) to