The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Morocco

  • Ebola: Morocco withdraw as AFCON 2015 hosts

    Ebola: Morocco withdraw as AFCON 2015 hosts

    Morocco has withdrawn its rights to host the African Cup of Nations next year due to fears of the Ebola virus, which has ravaged some West African nations over the last few months.

    Moroccan government had given the Confederation of African Football three scenarios to either let the country host the 2017 tournament, to postpone AFCON 2015 to 2016 or they pull out completely and take any consequence from CAF. But the continent football  governing body failed to respond, prompting the government’s decision to pull out to avoid the risk of Ebola spread to the North African country, supersport.com reports.

    A close source at the Ministry of Sports told superspot.com: “Since CAF rejected all our requests and suggestions then we are forced to withdraw from hosting AFCON 2015 with immediate effect to preserve the safety of our citizens and for that we are prepared to accept any decision that comes with our actions.”

    The withdrawal of Morocco has put South Africa in the focus as next hosts after SAFA President Danny Jordan met with CAF President Issa Hayatou to discuss the matter.

    Sudan has also requested to CAF to be considered as alternative hosts.

    South Africa was initially scheduled to host the tournament in 2017 following the withdrawal of Libya as hosts due to ongoing fighting there.

    Meanwhile, Egypt had also indicated interest in hosting next year’s Nations Cup, stating its confidence in organising the competition under short notice.

     

  • Eagles’ll qualify for AFCON 2015-Odunlami

    Eagles’ll qualify for AFCON 2015-Odunlami

    Super Eagles defender Kunle Odunlami has said that the reigning African champions will qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

    The Eagles have raised doubt in the minds of Nigerians over their ability to qualify for the final of the biennial football showpiece with just one point from a possible six in two group matches against Congo and South Africa.

    Odunlami said Nigerians need not bother over the chances of the Eagles making it to Morocco as the side are determined to win the remaining four matches in the qualification race.

    “I’m certain we’ll qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations coming up in Morocco next January.

    “I don’t think there is any reason for panic or anyone to lose sleep over the possibility of us making it to Morocco.

    “We did our best in Cape Town against South Africa to amass the maximum three points but we ended up with a point.

    “At least we didn’t lose the game, which would have spelt doom for us. We came back with something and we’ll work on the point.

    “Of course South Africa are coming here and that’s a certain three points in the kitty for us.

    “We’ll visit Congo and deal ruthlessly with them to fetch us another three points and we’re positive to earn six points at the expense of Sudan.

    “That in all adds up to 12 points including the point in our kitty that takes us to a maximum of 13 and I’m quite sure 13 points will give us one of the group’s tickets to Morocco.

    “The scenario above looks daunting but we’re determined to do whatever it takes to make it a reality.

    “We’ve been on this path in the past and we still went ahead to qualify, this time won’t be an exception.

    “What it calls for on our part is re-dedication to duty; once we’re able to get our act right we’ll not only qualify for the Afcon 2015 in Morocco but go ahead to defend our title successfully,” said the Sunshine Stars man to supersport.com.

    Nigeria are in third spot in Group A log on one point against leaders Congo’s six points and South Africa in second spot on four points while Sudan are in bottom place with no points after two rounds of matches.

     

  • Spain: Police target cells recruiting war volunteers

    Spain: Police target cells recruiting war volunteers

    In this tiny North African enclave, the Spanish police have cracked down in recent weeks on a network of Islamic militants with footholds in Spain and Morocco that they say has recruited and dispatched young volunteers to join insurgencies from Mali to Libya to Syria.

    The Spanish authorities described the cells as radicalized and connected via the Internet to some of the most dangerous militant groups that are fueling conflicts from Western Africa to Syria and Iraq, while also reinforcing fears that fighters with European passports will return with deadly skills to strike at home.

    Six Spanish citizens were arrested two weeks ago in this town, several of whom had served in the Spanish military, security officials said.

    Across Europe, authorities have stepped up surveillance and arrests of suspected militants as the Syrian conflict lures hundreds of fighters with European passports.

    But the alarm is arguably greater in Spain, which suffered Europe’s worst attack at the hands of Islamic militants in 2004, when 191 people were killed in a series of train bombings. The Spanish counterterrorism police say they have broken up more terrorist cells than in any other European country in the last three years.

    Spain’s Interior Ministry said the Madrid cell was led by Lahcen Ikassrien, a Moroccan who was freed from the United States military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; handed over to Spain; and later released. Mr. Ikassrien was arrested at his home outside Madrid. The others arrested included Moroccans, Spaniards and an Argentine, according to the Spanish news media, which cited anonymous police sources.

     

  • Morocco force Flying Eagles to 1-1 draw

    Morocco force Flying Eagles to 1-1 draw

    Hosts Morocco forced their Nigeria U-20 counterparts to a 1-1 draw in a second friendly played in Casablanca on Friday.

    The first match between the two teams on Wednesday also finished in a 2-2 draw.

    “Overall, I will score the team above average after the two matches. We would have to improve on our finishing,” said Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba after Friday’s game, which was aimed at preparing both teams for next month’s 2015 African Youth Championship qualifiers.

    “Morocco’s equaliser was also a soft goal. We cannot afford to let in such goals.”

    The Flying Eagles started brightly with Alhassan Ibrahim aka ‘Mu-azam’ firing at the Junior Atlas Lions goal after just four minutes.

    The gangling forward will open scoring in the 22nd minute when he cashed in on confusion between the goalkeeper and his skipper to go clear and slot home.

    It was his third goal in two matches as he also scored his team’s two goals on Wednesday.

    Striker Khaba Hamza restored parity for the home team on the half hour mark when he went past a napping Junior Eagles defence to shoot past goalkeeper Adamu Abubakar.

    The second half was characterised by several biased calls by the Moroccan referee, but to their credit the Flying Eagles did not lose their cool as they continued to search for the winning goal.

    On the hour, the Flying Eagles failed to connect a dangerous cross from the right, before Mu-azam saw his shot from outside the box miss by whiskers in the 75th minute.

    Morocco could have snatched a winner six minutes from time against the run of play, but scorer Hamza fired well off target from inside the box with goalkeeper Adamu at his mercy.

     

  • Morocco, Algeria trade accusations over Syrians

    Morocco and Algeria, North Africa’s two most powerful countries and biggest rivals, are accusing each other of mistreating Syrian refugees.

    The Algerian ambassador in Rabat was summoned by the Foreign Ministry yesterday to complain about what Morocco described as a rise in the expulsion of Syrian refugees into Morocco from Algerian territory.

    “Morocco profoundly deplores this inhuman act, more so because it involves women and children in an extremely vulnerable situation,” said the ministry statement.

    Morocco’s Interior Ministry said that between Sunday and Tuesday some 77 Syrians, including 18 women and 43 children had been expelled. These statements follow up on similar accusations in Moroccan media over the past week.

    The spokesman for Algeria’s Foreign Ministry, Amar Belani, said Thursday that the stories of expulsions were complete lies by the Moroccan “pseudo-media that specializes in nauseating bubbling of the anti-Algerian media swamp.”

    Algerian security forces along the border told the Algerian state news agency on Monday that in fact it was the Moroccans who were expelling Syrians into Algeria.

     

    Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in Syria in 2011, at least 2.4 million people have fled Syria, mostly to neighboring countries, according the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. But Morocco is a major jumping off point for immigrants, usually from sub-Saharan Africa, seeking entry into Europe.

    In the past, when Morocco has caught Africans who entered from Algeria hoping to cross into Europe, it expelled them into the deserts along the border with Algeria.

    According to rights activists in Oujda, Morocco’s far eastern city near the Algerian border, most of the Syrian refugees cross the border voluntarily seeking to join relatives already in the country.

    “I can’t say what’s going on along the entire Moroccan-Algerian border, but this is what I have found from the testimonies I have gathered without being able to confirm or deny that Algerians are expelling Syrians,” said Mohammed Kerzazi, a member of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights in Oujda.

    “It’s above all a humanitarian drama because Morocco does not give them refugee status and there are more and more of them in Oujda since June 2013,” he added, estimating they were in the hundreds.

     

  • Agbim hails mates for Bronze medal finish

    Captain of the Super Eagles team B to the just concluded Championship for African Nations in South Africa, Chigozie Agbim, has praised his teammates for getting something out of the competition as they claimed the 2nd runner –up position.

    Nigeria had been favorites to win the tournament after their miraculous comeback against North Africans, Morocco in the quarter-finals but stumbled against the Black Stars of Ghana in the Semi-finals.

    “Football sometimes doesn’t go the way you want it to, on our minds was to win the tournament but it did not go that way but we still thank God and my colleagues for the good works and fight they gave during the tournament,” Agbim said during a chat with Lagos-based Brila FM.

    The Enugu Rangers player also admitted that they were very disappointed not to have won the Championship.

  • Black Stars declare Eagles tie must win

    By Julius Okorie

    Black Stars have been told to put in all the arsenals in the armory when they face Super Eagles in the semi-final of the ongoing African Championship on Wednesday.

    Kumasi Asanti Kotoko midfielder, Rahim Ayew who gave the charge, said beating the rampaging Eagles who came from three goals down to edge out Morocco 4-3, will be the icing on the cake for Ghana and will even ginger the side to go for the trophy.

    Ayew who was part of Ghana’s squad that played in the maiden tournament hosted by Ivory Coast in 2009 admitted that the tie will be tough even as he called on his compatriots to be alert to every Super Eagles move.

    He expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance so far, noting the side has been good in defending against opponents and conceding fewer goals.

    “In my point of view, what I have seen they are doing really good because they are defending and they don’t really concede a lot of goals”, he enthused.

    He however cautioned the side against seeking to score many goals adding that a victory is the ultimate.

    Ayew, who joined Kotoko in the second transfer window of the season in Ghana, added: “Whether you win by one zero or two it is still a win and it all makes up the game; they should continue to be themselves.”

  • ‘Victory over Morocco a miracle’

    ‘Victory over Morocco a miracle’

    A member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Joe Amene, has described Nigeria’s come-back to defeat Morocco at the quarter-finals of the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN) as a “miracle”.

    The Super Eagles rallied from 0-3 down to beat Morocco’s Atlas Lions 4-3 during an extra time to reach the semi-finals of CHAN in South Africa.

    Amene told NAN in Onitsha on Sunday that the victory which, he said, he had yet to fully grasp was “a clear Act of God’’.

    “This is an indication that the God of soccer is with us in this tournament. And I rejoice with all Nigerians. I tell you sincerely, the victory was electrifying and miraculous in its nature. I salute the resilience and character of never-say-die within the Eagles,’’ he said.

    Amene, however, urged Coach Stephen Keshi to sharpen the midfield and defence so that the mistakes that gave the Moroccans an edge over the Eagles within a few minutes of play did not recur.

    Also reacting, Rommy Ezeonwuka, Proprietor, Rojenny Multi-Purpose Stadium and Tourist Village, Oba, Anambra, told NAN that the comeback was an indication that God reserved “a special love for Nigeria.

    “This kind of miracle is a fortune only reserved for Nigeria among hundreds of football-playing countries,’ he said.

  • My players disappointed me — Moroccan coach

    My players disappointed me — Moroccan coach

    The Atlas Lions of Morocco Coach, Hassan Benabicha, said his players disappointed him during the quarter-final match with the Super Eagles in the ongoing Africa Nations Championship (CHAN).

    The Lions lost 3-4 to the Super Eagles of Nigeria after taking a 3-0 lead in the first half of the dramatic match played on Saturday.

    Benabicha, who spoke through an interpreter, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Cape Town, South Africa, on Sunday that his players failed to hold on to their early lead. He said his players could have consolidated on the lead and finish off the game in the second half.

    “I am not disappointed with the result of the match. I am disappointed with my players because they were leading 3-0 only to later lose the game. This kind of opportunity rarely comes in a tournament like this. My team could have consolidated on their lead,’’ he said.

    Benabicha said the Eagles’ ability to recover from the three goals deficit and win the match showed they were a good team.

    “Let me congratulate the Nigerian team for such a good showing, having obtained such a wonderful result. At the interval in the dressing room, I told my players that the match was far from over as there was still a lot of work to be done.

    “This is because the Nigerian team we are facing is one of the best teams in the continent. I made a few changes after we conceded two goals in the second half but it will now appear from the result that it was a bit too late,’’ Benabicha said.

    The coach said the team would go back to begin preparations for the African Cup of Nations, which Morocco would host in January 2015.

     

  • CHAN: Nigeria 4 Morocco 3

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Saturday beat Morocco 4-3 in the quarter-finals of the ongoing African Nations Championship.
    Despite being three goals down in the first half, the Eagles equalized the goals in the second half and went on to score the only goal during the extra-time.