Rainy baptism, happy baptism! Morocco has perfectly launched its African Cup of Nations (CAN), the continental competition that it organizes and of which it is one of the main candidates for the title. Under a real deluge, Walid Regragui’s players dominated the Comoros (2-0) at the opening of the tournament.
A victory hailed by the Moroccan press. For the daily Le Matin “after a laborious first half, marked by a missed penalty by Rahimi, the Moroccan national team managed to get off to a good start”. “Difficult at the start of the match, the Atlas Lions rectified the situation thanks to a goal from Diaz and a masterpiece from El Kaâbi, which once again amused the gallery at the Moulay Abdellah complex,” specifies the media.
Before the match “Rabat has risen to the rank of capital of African football” according to the Moroccan media with an opening ceremony where “the Kingdom set the tone for an ambitious, inclusive and resolutely African tournament. At the end of this inaugural evening, one certainty emerged: Africa had just experienced a founding moment. »
“Inspired by the richness of Moroccan culture and the diversity of the African continent, the ceremony was enhanced by high-level artistic performances,” notes the daily L’Opinion. “This ceremony pays tribute to the unity, identity and unwavering resilience of African football,” applauds MAP Sport.
A “good introduction”, according to Today Morocco, but which was not attended by King Mohammed VI. The leader, man of the revival of Moroccan football with the creation of an ultra-modern center – called the Mohammed VI Academy – dedicated to training and development around fifteen years ago, was notably absent from the evening.
An absence that is causing discussion everywhere except in Morocco since the local press especially welcomed the presence of “His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan” who gave the “symbolic kickoff of the meeting”.
Le Matin also specifies that FIFA President Gianni Infantino, in his speech “expressed his warm thanks to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God help him, for “having welcomed us to Morocco, this wonderful country of football, passion and peace” and for having united Africa and the World on this happy occasion.”
“An absence which once again raises questions” for the Algerian press
If the Moroccan press does not dwell on the absence of the sovereign, the Algerian general newspaper TSA returned to this “intriguing event: the absence of King Mohammed VI at the opening ceremony”. “An absence which once again raises questions about the state of health of the 62-year-old sovereign.”
“As has often been the case for years, Mohammed VI was conspicuous by his absence and it was his son, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, 22, who was present in the stadium,” continues the Algerian media for whom this absence “would be linked to his illness”. “Mohammed VI suffers from sarcoidosis, a chronic inflammatory disease which forces him to reduce his public appearances to the strict minimum. In the Rabat stadium, the organizers installed a giant portrait of the king to represent him! »
