People walk past a sports apparel shop in Morocco’s capital Rabat on December 13, 2022 a day ahead of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final football match between Morocco and France.FADEL SENNA/AFP/Getty Images
The narrative for Wednesday’s semi-final between Morocco and France is shaping up as one of the most potent in World Cup history: the first African and Arab country ever to reach the semi-finals will confront its former European colonizer in a classic underdog-against-champion showdown with a sharp geopolitical edge.
For many African soccer fans, the narrative became even more dramatic after the Atlas Lions managed to defeat three of Europe’s traditional colonial powers – Belgium, Spain and Portugal – in their astonishing journey to the final four.
But while Morocco’s historic achievement has sparked a wave of excitement and support across Africa, it is also generating some conflicted feelings. Many Africans have mixed emotions about the North African team – largely because of Morocco’s own history.
“I refuse to celebrate,” said Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, a prominent MP in a South African opposition party, in a tweet after Morocco’s shocking upset of Portugal in the quarter-finals.
“Africa must reject Morocco until they end their occupation of Western Sahara,” he said, adding a #FreeWesternSahara hashtag for emphasis.
Ndlozi was referring to one of the bitterest issues in Africa: the long-standing Moroccan occupation of the disputed territory known as Western Sahara, whose fight for independence is supported by the African Union and many African governments. Many Africans consider the territory to be the last colony on the continent.
The dispute over Western Sahara – known to its supporters as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic – has weakened Morocco’s political and diplomatic links to the African continent for decades. In 1984, the Moroccan government quit the first postindependence pan-African union, the Organisation of African Unity, because of the Western Sahara issue. For the next 33 years, it refused to join the OAU or its successor organization, the African Union, until finally relenting in 2017.
Less than two months ago, in an example of African support for Western Saharan independence, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the territory’s president, Brahim Ghali, on a state visit to Pretoria. South Africa also hosted a “solidarity conference” for the territory in 2019, and the Ramaphosa government has touted its “strong historical ties dating back to the years of the struggle against colonialism and apartheid.”
Despite the long-standing territorial dispute, Morocco’s soccer team has been anxious to claim an African identity. “We are here to represent Africa,” head coach Walid Regragui said in a television interview earlier in the tournament. “We want to fly Africa’s flag high, just like Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon.”
The team’s Arab identity has also been vividly on display, with its players often waving a Palestinian flag after victories. This, too, has endeared them to the many Africans who support Palestinian rights, one of the continent’s most popular political causes.
Unsurprisingly, there were widespread celebrations in many African countries on the weekend when Morocco stunned the heavily favoured Portugal team in a 1-0 victory.
On social media, however, the divisions were more evident, with fierce debate about the meaning of Morocco’s victory.
Some Africans expressed joy at seeing the Atlas Lions advancing to the semi-finals. “This is a testimony that Africa is rising and we are a force to be reckoned with,” former Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed tweeted.
“For me it’s a celebration because Morocco eliminated colonizers,” one South African soccer fan said on Twitter.
But others were less happy. Western Saharan activists tweeted that they found it difficult to rejoice for the Moroccan victory when their territory remained occupied. Others voiced their concern about Morocco’s attitude toward the rest of Africa.
Borges Nhamirre, a Mozambican journalist and researcher at the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies, reacted to the World Cup events by posting a 2019 article from an Arab online media platform with the headline: “Why do Moroccans deny being African?”
The article described “anti-African sentiment” in Morocco, especially on migrant issues. It reported that a bus company had posted a notice requiring any “Africans” travelling to Morocco’s border cities to be subjected to special checks of their identity documents.
Some Moroccans “have forgotten or deliberately decided to forget that they geographically belong to the African continent,” the article said.
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
