The 2022 CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) will have the reigning champions Morocco defend its title after Morocco made a quick turn on its decision to boycott the biannual tournament.
Morocco won the 2018 and 2022 editions of the competition eligible to players who compete in national football leagues on the African continent.
However, the North African nation announced it won’t compete in this year’s tournament that commences later today.
This was due to an escalation of a long lasting row between Morocco and host nation Algeria with Algerian authorities preventing Morocco from flying directly to its Constantine base for the tournament.
Algeria blocked flights from Morocco in 2021 over its long standing feud with its fellow North African neighbor over Morocco’s stance on Western Sahara.
However, a series of late consultations have cleared the way for Morocco to travel to Algeria and compete against Ghana, Sudan and Madagascar in Group C at the preliminary stage.
A statement released by Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, “The Moroccan national team will travel tomorrow to Algeria to participate in CHAN. The departure will be from Salé airport.”
Morocco views former Spanish colony Western Sahara as part of its colony but separatist group Polisario disputes this claim and refers to the disputed territory as Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
The tough Group C has two time finalist Ghana and 2018 bronze medalist Sudan competing; Madagascar is making its debut in the tournament.