Morocco, reigning champions of the continental African Nations Championship (CHAN), have threatened to withdraw from the 2022 edition of the tournament starting in January 2023 if their demands are not met by hosts Algeria amidst ongoing political tensions between the two countries.With the competition set to take place from 13 January to 4 February, President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) Fouzi Lekjaa detailed Morocco’s conditions for its participation in the tournament entering its seventh edition.Omala sets first half season targets after blistering startAccording to reports, Lekjaa demanded that Morocco’s national team be able to travel on a direct flight on Morocco’s flag carrier Royal Air Maroc from the capital Rabat to Constantine – the city that will host their matches – revealing that should that condition not be fulfilled, Morocco will not take part in the competition.“Morocco will boycott CHAN 2022 if the conditions are not respected by Algeria. Morocco has sent a note to CAF so that the latter enforces the specifications of CHAN, in particular the aspect relating to the reception of the participating teams.The time is now.. Algeria is ready for it’s #TotalEnergiesCHAN guests 🇩🇿 pic.twitter.com/8aH4gnGdBs— CAF (@CAF_Online) December 19, 2022 The Federation specified that the team will travel to Algeria via a direct flight from Rabat to Constantine aboard a Royal Air Maroc plane. In the event of non-compliance with this request relating to the release of Algerian airspace, Morocco will not take part in the CHAN,” the reports state.Algeria cut relations with Morocco in 2021, citing attempts from its neighbor to destabilize the country and accusing Rabat of playing a part in the wildfires that engulfed Algeria that year.##NAJAVA_MECA_6911194##Although Rabat continued to deny the allegations and attempted dialogue, the discussion has yet to take place and relations remain severed.This strained relationship has been reflected in sporting events, when Algerian authorities infamously prevented an authorized Moroccan press crew, hoping to cover the Moroccan athletes’ performance, from entering the country in 2022.Mawia dominates women’s world cross country as 2022 draws to a closeIf Morocco was absent it would be a huge blow to the competition, as the Moroccan team are defending champions, and also hold the record for the most titles held along with Democratic Republic of Congo, with two titles each.Morocco, who dislodged Senegal to become the first ranked side in the continent following their FIFA 2022 World Cup heroics where they finished fourth, defeated Mali in the 2020 final, becoming the first nation to win back-to-back titles after their 2018 victory against Nigeria.Thank you, Morocco 🇲🇦 They dared to dream and they absolutely delivered 👏The best ever finish by an African nation in the #FIFAWorldCup 😍 pic.twitter.com/6Tjf95x8qO— CAF (@CAF_Online) December 17, 2022 CHAN is a biennial competition where participating nations must compete with teams made up entirely of local players.
