Despite doubts concerning their participation, the Morocco U-17 have confirmed they will feature at the 2023 U-17 AFCON.
Morocco were unable to defend their CHAN title after they pulled out of the tournament because the team couldn’t fly directly on to Algeria.
The tensions between these two North African countries date back to the 1970s after a dispute over Western Sahara, a territory annexed by Morocco in 1975.
As a result, Algeria severed diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021. The row meant all direct flights between the two countries were suspended.
There were concerns that Morocco-U17 were going to miss the 2023 U-17 AFCON which kicks off this weekend.
However, talks between the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation Fouzi Lekjaa and CAF president Dr Patrice Motsepe ensured that Morocco’s U-17 team will have a direct flight from Rabat to Constantine.
Morocco’s team will end up arriving in Algeria late despite delayed negotiations.
The North African side are in group B alongside South Africa, Zambia and two-time winners Nigeria.
Morocco’s U-17 team will begin their journey on Sunday against South Africa before they play Nigeria and Zambia.
The tournament which will be staged in Algeria runs from April 29 to May 19 and the best four countries will qualify for the U-17 World Cup later this year.
