Morocco’s joyous World Cup journey has been unexpected – but it’s no fluke

This isn’t the first time Morocco has made history. Forty-two years ago, Morocco also captured the attention of the world when it became the first Arab and African country to compete in the Eurovision song contest. In the end, it came second to last, and decided never to compete again.

Since then, many more Moroccan hearts and egos have been bruised and broken by international football tournaments. The national team have qualified for only five World Cups out of 11 after that Eurovision adventure – and, at their best, has only ever managed to reach the round of 16. Morocco bid to host the World Cup in 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2026, and never won. Still, it never gave up hope; football is in the country’s DNA.

“In my life, I will have experienced two historic moments of the utmost importance,” author and Nobel prize nominee Tahar Ben Jelloun wrote this week. “The return to Morocco of King Mohammed V on November 16, 1956 – a return that led to the independence of Morocco – and the qualification, on December 10, 2022, of the Atlas Lions for the semi-finals of the football World Cup.”

He sounds dramatic, of course, but wouldn’t you? Morocco has always loved football, it’s part of the country’s history. Abderrahmane Youssoufi, a freedom fighter who eventually became prime minister, recruited young working class men to the cause by setting up a football team and chairing tournaments in Casablanca. Muhammad Zarqtuni, another prominent figure who fought against the French protectorate, met likeminded activists through local leagues in the 1940s.

The latter eventually got a boulevard named after him in Casablanca, and would no doubt be pleased to know that it is where supporters have been singing, dancing and celebrating after each game over the past few weeks. It also isn’t hard to guess what he would make of tonight’s game against France.

Achraf Dari and Walid Cheddira of Morocco celebrate the team’s 1-0 victory over Portugal in the World Cup quarter final. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Still, it will be a more ambiguous night for many of us. There are around a million French-Moroccan people around the world, and many will have spent the past few days torn between their two homes.

Asked about her allegiances, author Leïla Slimani said: “I will be supporting Morocco but if France wins, I will be ecstatic too … But I support Morocco because it is an outsider, because it also represents an entire continent, a region that is often devalued. Suddenly, there is a very positive light on this part of the world.”

It would be hard to disagree. Watching pictures of players dancing with their mothers and praying on the pitch has felt like a long needed balm to the soul. When was the last time that Muslim men were cheered on by so many and with such enthusiasm?

It is also fair to say that Morocco’s irresistible rise wasn’t exactly expected. Though a few pundits mentioned the team as a potential dark horse, most ignored them, especially given that they shared a group with teams like Belgium and Croatia. Few things are as satisfying as proving doubters wrong, especially after so many decades when they were proved right.

As a member of the diaspora, being able to follow the team’s progress has also felt special. Being a second generation immigrant can often be an odd and uncomfortable experience, and there is something joyous about being represented by people with similar lives to yours.

I have always felt tremendous guilt at my inability to speak Darija – the Moroccan Arabic dialect – with my grandmother, but finding out that the team mostly speaks in English with each other was comforting.

After all, it isn’t our fault that our ancestors had itchy feet; that doesn’t mean our hearts cannot belong to several places at once. That is why I will be thinking of London’s Moroccans tonight. Their west London community was ripped apart when Grenfell, once nicknamed “the Moroccan tower”, burst into flames. Seeing videos of them embracing each other in joy instead of grief after each game has felt overwhelming. I hope they get to pour into the streets again tonight in celebration.

On top of everything else, a win tonight would feel well-deserved. Morocco’s success at this World Cup hasn’t been a fluke. As the head coach, Walid Regragui, pointed out earlier this week, the country and its king have long been working to better its performance at the sport. The Mohammed VI Football Academy was launched in 2009 and counts several of the squad’s current players as alumni. This isn’t just a story of bright boys going to train abroad then coming back to reap the benefits, but a triumph of homegrown talent, too.

Finally, it has felt like an important moment for the country’s Berber community, which is so often forgotten. Many members of the squad are Amazigh born and bred, and countless Berber Z flags have been spotted in the stadiums of Qatar. Morocco may be Arab and African, but it is Berber too; it is a weird and complex patchwork of languages, cultures and identities, and deserves to be seen as such by the rest of the world.

Morocco may not be perfect – the controversy surrounding the Western Sahara springs to mind – but everything it has been doing in recent years has felt like a step in the right direction. Here’s hoping this is only the beginning.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to call my mum before the game. I’ll never be able to bring her on to the pitch for a World Cup game, but I’m hoping that picking her side of the family tonight may be the next best thing.