North Africans and the African Cup of Nations
As I was watching the thrilling match between Morocco and Guinea in the African nations Cup in Ghana a couple of weeks ago I could not help but reflect on the place of the north Africans in the dynamic African diaspora. My interest was piqued when I found a few supporters’ websites with opposing fans spewing grotesque vituperations back and forth at each other.
I was particularly interested by certain blogs that expressed overt xenophobia and sometimes outright racism against the north African sides in the competion. Comments like “Arabs go home” and “Moroccans are not Africans” were there to be read by all.
So my question is, in a competition among African nations what determines who can participate? There is no doubt that the Arab-Berber, Muslim culture north of the Sahara is viewed more in the context of the near east/Mediterranean. Indeed, Egypt is probably viewed as the least African of all the nations involved.
The racial make-up of the north may help to explain some of the reservations expressed. However, north Africans have an extremely varied racial heritage and ironically enough it was Morocco’s Abdesalem Ouaddou, the most phenotypically African player on the squad to remark, “it is very hard for us northerners to catch a break in the African cup, very hard indeed.”
Tags: african, atlas.lions, cup, egypt, guinea, morocco, ouaddou, race, racism
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.