Hind Sabouni bristles with pride as she recalls her country’s history-making World Cup run as it eliminated one European soccer powerhouse and former colonial power after another — Belgium, Spain and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal — to become the first African and Arab nation to reach the semifinals.
For the 26-year-old English teacher in
Morocco’s capital, and many of her countrymen both inside the North African
nation and throughout the diaspora, it’s about to get more complicated. Next up
is France: The defending champion and Morocco’s former colonial ruler for much
of the first half of the 20th century.
Wednesday’s match has political and
emotional resonance for both nations. It dredges up everything that’s complex
about the relationship in which France still wields considerable economic,
political and cultural influence.
“This game is one of a kind,” Sabouni said.
“Especially since France is next to beat.”
“We can show the rest of the world that
Morocco is no longer France’s backyard.”
For the former protectorate, the match
against the defending champion is an opportunity to show that Morocco is a
formidable foe — on the soccer pitch at least — even though immigration between
the two countries has blurred the lines for many in France and Morocco about
who to support Wednesday in Qatar.
Over the past decade, Morocco’s
relationship with France has changed. Sabouni said her generation of Moroccans
is tired of France’s dominance. Young Moroccans, she said, “speak English
instead of French, they buy more American products than French ones and even
those who want to seek a better life abroad try to avoid France.”
“Even though this is just a football game,
some people view it as an opportunity for revenge,” Sabouni said.
But not everyone.
Kenza Bartali, a communications
professional in Rabat, sees no political overtones to the match. She obtained
her master’s degree in France, and lived for two years in Paris and the
southern cities of Nice and Toulon between 2016 and 2018. She made “wonderful
friends” who are still her friends today. “Most Moroccan students were treated
with respect,” the 26-year-old said.
Still, there is no doubt which team she’s
supporting.
“I sincerely hope that Morocco advances to
the final,” Bartali said. “I am aware that it will be difficult because France
is a very good team, but we are hoping for the best.”
Sabouni’s sentiments resonate with
Moroccans and other North Africans in France. Although the younger generation
of immigrants and their descendants appear to be more at ease with multiple
identities and languages in France, they still face institutional
discrimination, racial and ethnic prejudice in public life, economic hardship
and lack of job opportunities.
As in previous World Cups, France once
again has turned to their national soccer team made up of players from diverse
backgrounds as evidence that the country has indeed become a melting pot
despite lurking prejudice, stoked against immigrants by elected right-wing
politicians.
“Cultural changes and changes in life on
the ground do have an effect and the team represents that,” said Laurent
Dubois, a professor at University of Virginia in Charlottesville who has
authored two books on French and international soccer.
“The way the players inhabit being French
and don’t seem to have an issue with also being African or anything else at the
same time is an antidote to the immigrant resentment on the right.”
In Morocco, people have embraced the team’s
foreign-born players as their native sons. They welcome the experience and
professionalism they bring from Europe’s top clubs and are proud they chose
Morocco as their national team when they could have played for the countries of
their births, from Spain to Canada to Belgium and beyond.
The Morocco national team depends heavily
on the diaspora, with 14 of the squad’s 26 players born abroad, including their
French-born coach, Walid Regragui, the highest proportion for any team at the
World Cup.
Like Morocco’s supporters at home and an
estimated 5 million scattered around Europe and beyond, many players grapple
with family tales of colonial history, the challenges of immigration and
questions of national loyalty. They want desperately to detach from the burdens
of the past and win a place in the World Cup final — whether home for them is
in France or Morocco, or Belgium, Canada, Tunisia, Algeria or elsewhere.
“Most of the Moroccan players who were born
abroad chose Morocco as their national team because they feel they play for
more than just to win a football match,” said Maher Mezahi, a Marseille-based
Algerian journalist covering African football. “They play to elevate national
pride and to make their family proud.”
For Regragui, his and his player’s dual
identities are meaningless in the biggest match the squad has faced.
“I’m a dual national, and that’s an honor
and a pleasure,” the Moroccan coach said. “And it’s an honor and a pleasure to
face France. But I’m the Morocco coach and we’re going to be playing the best
team in the world. The most important thing is to get through to the final.”
“When we play for the Moroccan national
team, we are Moroccans,” Regragui said.
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