Her Excellency Imane Quaadil, the Moroccan ambassador to Ghana, remarked that the support of other African nations made Morocco’s strong performance in the ongoing 2022 World Cup in Qatar all the more noteworthy.
Following a 1-0 victory over Portugal in the quarterfinals, the Atlas Lions of Morocco became the first African side to go to the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup.
Interviewed on the Happy Sports with Ohene Brenya-Bampoe on Happy98.9 FM, Her Excellency Imane Quaadil reiterated that Morocco’s historic feat comes as a proud moment not only for the country but the rest of the African continent and major parts of the world.
“I was amazed at how historic this victory was for us in Morocco not just because we became the first African country to qualify for the semis but also huge for our brothers in Africa and the Arab world. We are Africans of course and Arabs and this is the beauty of it and we get to celebrate the victory with so many people around the world. I realized even people from Latin America were with us and cheered with us in through the game,” she shared.
She however confessed that despite the boisterous support, the team is also under pressure to deliver in the subsequent game of the competition.
“Of course, this also puts a lot of pressure on the team because we have to deliver not only for the Moroccan people but also for Africans and for the Arab world and even Latin America.”
She continued, “We all saw the joy of the Emery of Qatar cheering Morocco as we won so it was a great joy to see. He was there all the way and also cheering for us and we’re really proud of that. We have also seen on social media so many Presidents of other African countries congratulating His Majesty and all the Moroccan people for this victory and we are very proud of that. There were scenes in the streets of Ghana, Senegal, Niger, Cote D’Ivoire, and everywhere in the world. It’s huge for us.”
Morocco is set to face France in the semi-finals of the competition on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, as they remain confident of lifting the trophy for the first time in history.