Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) President Fouzi Lekjaa said Friday that depriving the Moroccan U-23 team of taking part in the African Nations Championship (CHAN), organised in Algeria, is “a very deplorable act.”
“It is really deplorable to deprive young players who have prepared for a month to participate in this African sports competition,” said Lekjaa to the press.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the reception of FIFA and CAF Presidents Gianni Infantino and Patrice Motsepe, who arrived Friday at the Rabat-Salé Airport to attend the 2022 Club World Cup draw ceremony.
The Moroccan players, two-time CHAN title holders, had arrived Friday morning at Rabat-Salé airport in anticipation of flying to Constantine to play in the tournament, Lekjaa said.
In a statement released Thursday, the FRMF said that the Moroccan team was not able to travel to Constantine in Algeria to play the 7th edition of the CHAN and defend its title, as the final authorization of its Royal Air Maroc flight, the official carrier of Moroccan soccer teams, from Rabat to Constantine has not been confirmed.
