“It's like you're planning your wedding for a year. All the guests are having fun, and at the end, right before you bring the big cake, you have some drunk uncle stumbling and breaking everything and injuring your husband. This is basically what we felt like,” Moroccan photographer and curator Mehdi Sefrioui tells OkayAfrica.
The drunk uncle, in this case, is the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final that has come to overshadow an exceptionally well-organized tournament. In the final’s aftermath, a month of promoting unity and togetherness has turned into a flood of hate, even though tension and violence during football matches are nothing new (remember the diplomatic breakdown between Egypt and Algeria in 2009).
It’s the mistrust and bad faith between the North and the rest of the continent that is driving the ugliness we are currently witnessing. On Moroccan social media and streets, some have spewed racist comments at Black Africans. In turn, many in the rest of Africa and the Black diaspora have mocked Morocco’s loss, accusing it of corruption and being bad hosts.
Just like that, the videos of Africans dancing together, supporting each other during games, and enjoying each other’s cultures seem to have been forgotten. Are we back to square one?
Connection as the antidote to prejudice
It’s no secret that anti-Blackness is a plight in North Africa. At the same time, North Africans are the world’s most hospitable people. As a Black person in North Africa, one’s experience depends on who one meets — it could be the trip of a lifetime, and it could be anything from mockery towards visitors to modern-day slavery of migrants. This is the reality, and it has to change.
“In Tangier, when people think about Black people, they just think about illegal immigrants hiding in the forest and that kind of stuff, because that's the only thing they see,” says Sefrioui, who has been working to combat racism in Morocco for fifteen years. “So seeing football teams, their families and supporters in restaurants, partying together and having fun, did a lot of good. People who are racist don’t know who they are racist against.”
“I had some ideas from social media about [Black] Africans, but when I met them personally, I knew they were very respectful, kind, and had rich cultures,” says Kenitra-based Chaoula Elmoussati. “I enjoyed traveling with Nigerians and Senegalese around the country, and we shared many great experiences. Some of them even traveled with me and my family to different cities.”
Videos on social media show a Moroccan man verbally abusing a Black man, but also a Moroccan man hugging a Nigerian and saying, “we are all brothers.” Both narratives are alive, and it’s our collective decision to promote one and not the other.
The violence that erupted in the stadium shocked Moroccans and left a bitter aftertaste. “Still, we need to respond in a better way, and I feel ashamed of the racism I see from both sides,” says Dr. Huda Abadi. “There’s a clear line between passionate support and hate speech, and racism should never be accepted. Sports should bring people together and help us understand each other, not create more division.”
“Any and all instances of violence or racism are not at all an honest reflection of Moroccans, and we condemn them unequivocally,” agrees visual designer Yassine Rais El Fenni.
“Of course, we have things to improve on our side. Do these people in the stands represent the whole Senegalese people? Absolutely not. And do we not have our aggressive assholes, too? We do,” says Sefrioui. “I know I don’t represent the majority, but I don't think the majority are just blind nationalists and racists.”
Rather, he cites a lack of education and negative media representation as the main reasons that some Moroccans feel disconnected from the rest of the continent. “If you grew up only hearing bad things about yourself or your community, you’d hate the idea of belonging to this culture or this country or this continent,” he says. “That’s why I really believe in positive representation, and I’m not scared for the future, because the new generations are connected through social media.”
Understanding cultural nuance
Tensions were already rising online before the final, with accusations of Moroccan referees showing favoritism for North African teams. Moroccan ballboys were filmed stealing the towels of other teams’ goalkeepers repeatedly, sparking international condemnation.
Morocco has a strong culture of superstition. They are infamous for their belief in black magic. “They thought the other team was doing what we call shawada, black magic. But go explain that to a [foreign] commentator,” says Sefrioui. “It’s known that in the history of AFCON, teams will put black magic in goals to bless and protect them.”
Elmoussati was at the stadium with her new Nigerian friends, watching the towel fight. “They explained to me that the towel doesn't have black magic, but those Moroccans thought that,” she remembers. “I don't believe in magic, and it was just funny to me.”
A hurt national pride
Moroccans say that they are not upset about losing the tournament, but about how they lost. Even more so, they are hurt about the negative feedback they are receiving after doing their best to make people feel at home.
“The atmosphere of the cup was wonderful,” says entrepreneur Kenza Thifa. “ I usually don’t talk to people I don’t know, but when I was going to the stadium in Tangier, I saw two Senegalese women waiting for a cab, and the weather was a bit harsh, so I took them in my car.”
Both Sefrioui and Rais El Fenni live in Tangier, where the Senegalese team was housed and trained. They disagree with claims of bad treatment. “They were placed in the Fairmont Tazi Palace hotel, a five-star hotel in international standards, and practiced in Tangier stadium,” says Sefrioui.
However, both agree with the criticism of the referees. “It was the referee who f***** up the final,” says Sefrioui. “He was not up to the task. Moroccans now wish that we had lost with that first goal of the Senegalese team, because we would have not have had all the aggression and the violence that ensued.”
“It’s extremely disappointing and unacceptable that the referees allowed to officiate these games are nowhere near the level they should be as compared to the very high level of football being played on the pitch,” echoes Rais El Fanni. “World-class players and teams deserve to have world-class officiating, full-stop.”
Who benefits from a divided Africa?
Despite the tournament’s ugly aftermath, Moroccans feel proud of what they were able to offer the continent, wanting to showcase a positive image of Africa to the world. “I received nothing but compliments and praise about how the country as a whole was organizing and hosting the tournament. In that light, Morocco definitely achieved what they intended,” says Rais El Fenni.
“Personally, if we lost to anyone, I am happy it was Senegal,” he continues. “We have a really close relationship and deep history with Senegal and its people.”
Thifa strikes a less conciliatory tone. “I don't want my country to organize any other AFCON,” she says. “Because of all the stuff happening on social media. I welcome you and treat you well, and at the end of the day, you go out and talk [nonsense] about me. Why? Why do this?” A few minutes later, she concedes and chuckles, “I'm saying this now because it's still very early, but maybe if you ask me in two years, I’ll say ‘yeah, go for it.’ I’m just hurt.’”
“We should also consider who benefits from a divided Africa,” says Dr. Abadi. “The arguments about whether we are African enough or Arab enough need to end. Let’s focus on empathy, solidarity, and inclusivity to have better conversations to build a beautiful and strong Africa. Identity is fluid, and we shouldn’t fall into old colonial traps.”
Sally Ghaly, a Marrakech-based Egyptian who organized AFCON-activations at Moroccan photographer Hassan Hajjaj’s tea room JAJJAH, agrees. “We're so simple and forgetful as humans that you can see a whole tournament that lasts four weeks, and the only thing you're going to remember is the last ending match,” she says. “It’s such a pity.”
For her, the highlight of the tournament was that all of Africa came to see Morocco, with the goal to come together and enjoy the theatrics. “We just need more pride in ourselves and more connection across the continent,” she says. “Pre-final, this AFCON was a start of what that could look like.”
