It’s too early to talk about a green tide, but they have bloomed in the city since Monday, intense, green, sonorous and joyful. Algeria supporters plan to meet on the edge of the old town of Rabat today late in the morning, before heading to the Moulay-Hassan stadium to support the national team. Tuesday, at the foot of the dilapidated Hôtel du Center, several dozen of them joined the Tunisian comrades, they hoisted high the flags and big resounding speakers, braving the rain which has not stopped watering the streets of Rabat for a week.
How many will there be in total, our Fennec lovers? Hard to say. The Algerian Federation is negotiating a larger quota of places for the second match of the group stage, against Burkina Faso on Sunday, in the same stadium, and the organization is talking about a contingent of 30,000 to 50,000 fans, ticket holders or not. Among them, a majority of Franco-Algerian dual nationals, who came from France to support Riyad Mahrez’s gang. For those coming from Algeria, the journey was more complex, the border between the two countries being closed, forcing them to go towards the East before returning to the West…
Scarf from the Greens on a threadbare Moncler down jacket, Rachid, in his twenties, says: “I left my home, Oran, by plane, I had an eight-hour stopover in Tunis, then a second flight to Casablanca, and the end of the train journey to Rabat. The round trip costs me 600 euros. For accommodation, I counted €50 per night. But €50 for an Algerian is not the same as for a Frenchman…” Rachid is finishing a master’s degree in commerce, already has a food wholesaler business (oil, sugar), he wants the calculations to be good for his team: “Ah there, I have to, players, I don’t want to get angry, the last two CAN, we went out in the first round… I dream of a third star before going to the World Cup. Especially here, imagine we face Morocco, the whole world will watch. »
“The Algerians are present at the party, this environment is pleasant. »
Farid, a young Franco-Moroccan
With a bob from the selection on his head, Oussama made the journey from Khenchela, in eastern Algeria and at the gates of Aurès: “I went to Algiers by road, then flew to Tunis, and Tunis-Casa. We stay with other supporters, like a little family. » Loyal to the team, he has a favorite, Mohamed Amoura, and shows us around ten photos where he poses with the Wolfsburg player, originally from the wilaya of Jijel, a pretty port nicknamed “the Pearl of the Mediterranean”. Like supporters arriving from other African countries, Algerians had to obtain authorization to access Moroccan territory, a sort of e-visa, via a free and quick procedure on a dedicated telephone application. A process put in place by the Kingdom last September.
In front of the Marriott hotel, where the selection is staying, Osama, Rachid and a dozen fans sing and jump, hoping to give strength to the players curled up in the rooms upstairs. The police do not flinch, locals pass by, kindly calling out “Dima Maghreb” in response to “One, two, three viva l’Algérie”. This makes Farid smile, a young Franco-Moroccan who left the Paris region during the CAN: “I was walking around there, I thought it was the Hôtel du Bénin, then I saw the atmosphere and I understood! The Algerians are present at the party, this environment is pleasant. »
Coming with his son Sofiane, Nouredine, restaurateur from Martigues and cousin of former international Rafik Saïfi, insists: “I was very well received by the Moroccans, I am hosted by a Moroccan, I have a Moroccan driver. We’re here for football, not social media controversies. » Figure of the Algerian kop, Salim Khelif abounds: “Moroccans, Algerians, we are Siamese brothers, we marry each other… Here, we are in sport, not politics. Morocco-Algeria is like Argentina-Brazil, Clasicos, you have to bring back the adrenaline and the best one wins. » Popping in unexpectedly, comedian Booder, of Moroccan origin, treats himself to a mini-crowd and concludes: “I support everyone, I want us to live well together. »
