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Join on Telegram The scene was surreal, but when it comes to Algerian media, this has become the norm. In a sports segment on an Algerian state-owned TV channel, a host talked about the second day of the FIFA Arab Cup currently hosted by Qatar, with three games taking place.
The funny thing is that she only mentions two, with the third game being completely omitted. For every Moroccan, and probably every Algerian who watched it, the reason was obvious: Morocco was part of the third match and it seems that the Algerian state policy, also reflected in certain supposedly privately owned media, is to never positively mention the Kingdom — like when the Moroccan team wins a trophy, or simply when the Atlas Lions are part of a game in a regional or continental tournament.
Erasing Morocco
The tensions between Morocco and Algeria — including political tensions, diplomatic rift, and growing accusations of cultural appropriation — are no secret. The above-mentioned TV segment is reflective of a highly bizarre Algerian approach to its relationship with Morocco. An approach that can be called the ‘‘Pretending as if Morocco doesn’t exist strategy.’’
Moroccans recognized this during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar when the Algerian state media avoided any mention of Morocco’s games in the group stage. Once in the knockout rounds, the Algerian media coverage mentioned only one side in the game. For example, they stated that Spain was eliminated from the round of 16 after missing three shots in the penalty shootouts. They lost to whom? Not a word of it. Apparently, La Roja was playing against ghosts.
Anyone with a journalism background knows that every news piece answers six fundamental questions — ‘’5 Ws’’ and ‘’1H” – with the ‘’Who’’ being one of them. Everyone knows the “who” in question, and by choosing to present the news in this way, the Algerian state media made itself, and continues to make itself, a laughingstock.
In September, Morocco hosted Guinea’s World Cup Qualifiers matchup against Algeria in Casablanca. When reporting on the subject, the Algerian media this time omitted saying where the game was taking place.
This attitude had even some Algerian social media influencers — who generally hold a hostile discourse towards Morocco — calling Morocco: ‘’a cheap shot.’’
It is hard to understand why the Algerian media and some public figures, are behaving in this way. It’s obvious that deliberately avoiding mentioning Morocco will not change the reality of Moroccan football victory.
Parallel Universe
Algeria adopts the strategy of ‘’acting as if Morocco doesn’t exist” to minimize Morocco’s actions as insignificant. Many times, this attempt to erase Morocco — sometimes done in the form of embarrassing statements from the Algerian government — leads to unintended consequences.
In November, the Algerian Ambassador to the US Sabri Boukadoum stunned the audience during a conversation hosted by the Stimson Center when he claimed that his country was the first to recognize the United States of America. When corrected by the moderator who reminded him that Morocco was the first country to do that, he doubled down on his statement, as if the ambassador lived in a reality of his own.
Boukadom’s blunder is reminiscent of something similar, if not worse, that involved the former Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdelkader Messahel, back in 2017. Apparently annoyed by comparison between Algeria’s and Morocco’s economies, and the recognition of Morocco’s economic success, Messahel replied that Moroccan banks are just laundering drug money and that the Moroccan airlines transport narcotics, not passengers. He even claimed he received this information from African heads of state.
Encouraged by laughs and cheering from the audience, he went even further when he said, with a lot of chest thumping, that Algeria is the only country in the region with a real potential for attracting investment.
“Today, when we talk about doing business in North Africa, there is only Algeria. Don’t talk to me about Egypt, Tunisia, Libya or Morocco,’’ he said, met with excitement from his audience.
Those with more common sense in some Algerian private media lashed out at the minister, with some even calling for his resignation. They pointed out that not only he lacked diplomatic decorum by dragging other countries and heads of states in a rift with Morocco, but also that what he was claiming could easily be proven as non-factual.
While it’s true that Moroccan media coverage of Algeria is not favorable either, there is a level of professionalism in which media organizations will not ruthlessly criticize Algeria. Doing otherwise would run contrary to King Mohammed VI’s continuous extension of peace and call on Algerian officials to settle differences. The Kingdom abstains from taking retaliatory measures against Algeria, and has avoided escalations in the last few years. Despite this, Algeria’s airspace is closed to Moroccan aircraft and visas are imposed on Moroccans.
On the other hand, for Algerian media, the Kingdom seems a fair game, and nothing is off limits.
A campaign of denigration
When Algeria is not trying to erase Morocco, it does strive to depict Morocco in the worst way possible on its state-owned and private media and reports. The same rhetoric is repeated over and over to show Morocco as an extremely poor country, on the verge of collapse, with anger brewing in Moroccan cities and towns. An anger that will ultimately turn into a revolution that will overthrow the monarchy.
A smear campaign is mainly targeting Moroccan football infrastructures with a failing attempt to discredit the Kingdom’s ability to host major events such as AFCON and the World Cup. While Egyptian, Tunisian, Senegalese, and other African media outlets are praising Morocco’s hosting capabilities, Algeria’s media are the only ones crying in the wilderness.
Such a smear campaign is set to continue during the next four years preceding the 2030 World Cup co-hosted by Morocco, unless there is a “détente” between the two countries — something which, unfortunately, seems unlikely anytime soon.
It is hard to imagine that the Algerian media have any influence beyond their borders. Among the Algerian population, including fans who will flock to Morocco to cheer the Fennecs this month, many already know that the claims of the denigration campaign are baseless. A good portion of Algerian visitors during the AFCON represent the Algerian diaspora in Europe, many of whom come regularly to Morocco for vacation. Those Algerian tourists see Morocco for what it really is: an African country that is among the most developed in the continent, with a strong tourism and services industry, and great abilities to successfully organize international events.
For the others who will have the chance to visit the Kingdom for the first time, they will find a welcoming country with deeply rooted hospitality and great accommodation to make their AFCON stay an enjoyable one. They will be part of a tournament that the Confederation of African Football is promoting as one of the best in the continent’s history.
