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Rabat – Sportswear retailer Adidas has expressed its “deep respect” for Morocco’s people and craftsmen following a backlash caused by the company’s new culture wear collection for Algeria’s national team, which features Moroccan Zellige mosaic patterns.
Adidas issued a press release on Friday in response to the controversy its new wear jerseys created, emphasizing that “constructive” talks with Morocco have led to a “positive resolution” to the recent football jersey issue.
The company added that its design was “inspired by the Zellige mosaics pattern and was at no time intended to offend anyone,” and expressed “deep respect to the people and craftsmen of Morocco.”
Adidas also expressed “regret” over the controversy, reaffirming its stance against any act that “prejudices the cultural integrity and history of people and nationals globally.”
The press release, however, still failed to recognize that Zellige is part of Morocco’s heritage, with the company only resorting to the word “regret” to cover up their cultural appropriation through their collection which was inspired by Morocco’s mosaic patterns.
While claiming that its new wear did not mean to “offend anyone,” the company’s communique did not include an official apology to Morocco. The brand also ignored that Morocco registered Zellige of Fez in the Vienna Classification of Figurative Elements of the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2015.
The registration comes as part of the country’s effort to preserve its national heritage.
Despite the controversy, Adidas did not confirm whether it will withdraw the Algerian jersey. Reporting by France24 appears to indicate that the shirts will not be withdrawn.
The sportswear retailer received backlash last month after releasing a “culture wear” collection for Algeria’s team, claiming inspiration from the architectural design of the El Mechouar palace in Tlemcen.
In response, Morocco’s Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication instructed President of the Morocco’s Lawyers’ Club Mourad Elajouti to file a complaint against the German company for cultural appropriation of Morocco’s heritage.
“We have warned the corporation that this practice constitutes cultural appropriation, an attempted robbery of a form of traditional Moroccan cultural heritage, and the use of that heritage outside of its intended context,” Elajouti said.
In order to preserve its cultural heritage, Morocco has since patented the Zellige of Fez by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Morocco’s Ministry of Culture emphasized that “Zellige is one of the most artistic forms that express the originality of Moroccan architecture,” an industry that dates back to the 10th century AD.
