In their first ever World Cup semi-final, Morocco will face France — the defending World Cup champion and Morocco’s former colonial ruler for much of the first half of the 20th century.
For the 26-year-old English teacher in Morocco’s capital, and many of her countrymen both inside the North African nation and throughout the diaspora, it’s about to get more complicated.
Moroccans celebrate in Rabat on Dec. 10, 2022, after defeating Portugal in the quarterfinal of the World Cup.For the former protectorate, the match against the defending champion is an opportunity to show that Morocco is a formidable foe — on the soccer pitch at least — even though immigration between the two countries has blurred the lines for many in France and Morocco about who to support Wednesday in Qatar.
Sabouni’s sentiments resonate with Moroccans and other North Africans in France. Although the younger generation of immigrants and their descendants appear to be more at ease with multiple identities and languages in France, they still face institutional discrimination, racial and ethnic prejudice in public life, economic hardship and lack of job opportunities.
“The way the players inhabit being French and don’t seem to have an issue with also being African or anything else at the same time is an antidote to the immigrant resentment on the right.” Like Morocco’s supporters at home and an estimated 5 million scattered around Europe and beyond, many players grapple with family tales of colonial history, the challenges of immigration and questions of national loyalty. They want desperately to detach from the burdens of the past and win a place in the World Cup final — whether home for them is in France or Morocco, or Belgium, Canada, Tunisia, Algeria or elsewhere.
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