The continent of Africa has had a very good representation at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with the five teams creating memorable records. Morocco who is one of Africa’s five representatives has proven to be the best amongst them all. The Atlas Lions  played out a barren draw with the La Roja of Spain in a Round of 16 encounter of the 2022 FIFA World Cup played at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan. Spain got knocked out on Penalties after failing to convert all of their spot kicks while their opponents scored three out of four. The 3-0 win on penalties sent Morocco into the Quarterfinals of the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup alongside Argentina, Portugal, Switzerland, France, England, Netherlands and Poland.

Morocco became the fourth African nation in the history of the World Cup to qualify for the quarter-final. In a post match reaction to the outcome of the game, Angers SCO and Moroccan winger Sofiane Boufal praised the natives of Morocco, Arabs and Muslims across the world for their immense support. The 29-year-old went on to dedicate the hard earned win to the Muslim faithfuls and Arabs across the globe, neglecting the continent of Africa as a whole.

“Thanks to all Moroccans all over the world for their support, to all Arab people, and to all Muslim people. This victory belongs to all Moroccan people, to all Arab people and to all muslims in the world.”

The comments come after a large portion of Africa joined the nation in jubilating after they shockingly defeated Spain on penalties. People have praised Morocco’s triumph as an African win on social media. Senegal, Cameroon, and Ghana left, while people in other African nations have naturally embraced Morocco. The comments brought up questions about Morocco’s own identity, which it has associated with individuals outside of Africa.

Last Wednesday, the former Southampton winger apologized to Africans for forgetting to mention the continent. He posted an apology on Instagram: “Sorry for forgetting to mention ALL of the African continent yesterday in the post-match interview. Thank you for being behind us, I also dedicate the victory to you of course. We are proud to represent all our brothers on the continent. TOGETHER… “

The apology however has little to no effect on the psychological effects of the speech uttered after the famous win over Spain. Boufal coming out to issue an apology shows that he was compelled to do so and is a big insult to the whole of Africa.

The Moroccan FA also disclosed that their World Cup win has nothing to do with Africa. 

The aforementioned statements are a source of embarrassment for the continent Africa, with their support getting rubbished by Moroccan players and officials.