Morocco and Spain will face each other on Tuesday (December 6th) afternoon in the round of 16 of the World Cup. Another match with a strong political dimension. For lots of reasons. It is undoubtedly the most political match of these round of 16.
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First factor, the very large Moroccan community in Spain. Between 800,000 and 900,000 people. It is the first foreign community among our neighbours. This is also found in the players of the Moroccan team, they are four to play in Spanish clubs in Seville, Valladolid, Osasuna. Three hold dual nationality, two were born in Spain, including Ashraf Hakimi, the Madrid-born PSG defender. And then the Moroccan supporters are among the loudest and most motivated since the start of the competition. Very present in the stadiums in Qatar: the Moroccan federation has also obtained 5,000 additional places for Tuesday’s match. Royal Air Maroc has chartered several special flights to Qatar. And according to the Moroccan press, the tickets sold, the day before the match, very expensive on the black market, up to 2000 dollars instead. We must therefore also expect a big atmosphere in the big cities of Spain on Tuesday afternoon, with reinforced security devices everywhere.
The enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla
In the background of this meeting, we find political disputes, in particular on the famous enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. It must be said that these enclaves appear as anomalies when looking at a map. Ceuta and Melilla, two small towns of about 80,000 inhabitants, on a small area of 15 / 20 km2. Two Spanish territories but on the other side of the Mediterranean, landlocked on the territory of Morocco. Near Tangier for Ceuta, further east for Melilla. Like two little bits of country in another. Confetti, slag from colonization since the 15th century.
Morocco, obviously, considers this Spanish presence as illegitimate. But from the Spanish point of view, this is not a subject of discussion. Let us add that in the other direction in a way, Andalusia in Spain was Muslim for nine centuries. We regularly hear about Ceuta and Melilla in the news because it is one of the entry points for immigration into Europe. Moreover, one of the players of the Morocco team, goalkeeper Munir Mohammedi, was born in Melilla.
And there are regular tensions during the influx of migrants. The most spectacular last one and a half years ago in March 2021: the Moroccan police deliberately lifted their roadblocks at the entrance to the two enclaves. In 48 hours, 10,000 people set off for Ceuta and Melilla.
The issue of Western Sahara
It was in fact blackmail, an act of reprisal from Morocco against Spain, on another contentious subject! A retaliatory measure because Spain had agreed to hospitalize the leader of the Polisario Front on its soil. The Polisario Front is this political movement which demands the independence of Western Sahara in the South of Morocco. Morocco considers that it belongs to it and it proposes a simple autonomy plan.
In this case, the blackmail of migrants has also worked since the Spanish power has partly yielded. Earlier this year, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez agreed to recognize the validity of Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara. But it remains a sensitive subject between the two countries. And there are others: the arrival of migrants in the Canary Islands, another Spanish territory, or the delimitation of the respective fishing zones. In short, this time again, there is more than sport at stake on the field.