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Rabat – Algeria Press Service (APS), the country’s official news agency, omitted Morocco from the list of winners of the African Nations Championship (CHAN), which Algeria is set to host on January 13.
Morocco is the current champion and the team with the most titles. As Morocco has won two titles, it has tied with DR Congo for the most championships won.
The APS article listed DR Congo, Tunisia, and Libya as winners of the tournament in the past, but left out Morocco’s 2018 and 2020 consecutive championship wins.
The omission harkens back to the 2022 World Cup when Algeria’s press completely ignored Morocco’s victories over the course of the tournament, which saw the Atlas Lions become the first African and Arab team to reach the semi-finals.
Since Algeria unilaterally cut relations with its western neighbor in 2021, tensions have remained high between the two countries.
Morocco’s Royal Football Federation (FRMF) recently tied its team’s participation with them being allowed to travel directly from Rabat to Algeria’s Constantine, which is hosting the tournament.
FRMF President Fouzi Lekjaa also specified that the team has to be allowed to travel on a Royal Air Maroc plane, seeing as they are the official airline of all of Morocco’s national teams.
During the 2022 Mediterranean Games held in Oran, Algeria, a Moroccan press team was denied entry into the country despite being accredited and having finished all the necessary procedures. The incident sparked criticism from Morocco over its neighbor’s unwillingness to put political issues aside during sporting events.
