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Rabat – While most of the national squads qualified for the Russian World Cup have recently revealed their home and away kits, or jerseys, for this summer’s tournament, Morocco’s kits have yet to be revealed to the numerous Atlas Lions’ fans anxiously waiting to discover the look and texture of the squad’s Russia 2018 kits.
Last week, some national outlets even reported on the fans’ frustration and disappointment due to this “unwarranted” delay. Some Moroccan fans on social media, taken with Portugal’s kits and quite outraged about Morocco’s delay, went as far as putting the logo of Morocco’s Royal Football Federation on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal jersey, suggesting that “this could be Morocco’s kit for this summer tournament.”
And so, amidst the flurry of speculations and popular irritation at the delay, Adidas, the company in charge of producing and marketing the Atlas Lions’ kits for Russia 2018, recently released the reason for this hold over: counterfeit duplication.
According to Al Maasae in its March 27 edition, Moroccan footballing authorities and Adidas’s executive committee agreed to delay the official uncovering of the Atlas Lions’ World Cup kits to avoid forgery. They are waiting for the appropriate moment to uncover the kits, Al Massae reported, citing Adidas’ concerns about “counterfeit duplication of the kits,” if uncovered several months before the opening of the Russia FIFA 2018 tournament.
Al Massae also explained that, although counterfeit production is a common occurrence in Morocco, with a host of forged kits already filling Moroccan shops and passing for the Atlas Lions’ FIFA 2018 official kits, none of the producers has been successful in predicting what the team’s real kits will actually look like. According to Al Massae, Casablanca is full of forgery factories that have caused financial losses for Moroccan clubs like Wydad.
“But,” Moroccan fans may be asking, “When will they launch it? What exactly do they mean by “appropriate moment?” To that, All Massae and Adidas gave no further details, no clues. So Moroccan fans can admire or dislike the official kits of other national squads while nervously waiting for that of the Atlas Lions.
