Demands in Morocco to adopt the letter "Tifinagh" on the shirts of the national team players
Controversy over the Amazigh language was renewed after the Moroccan national team's historic achievement in the World Cup
More than 20 Amazigh bodies called on the Moroccan Football Federation to adopt the letter "Tifinagh" on the jerseys of the male and female national team players and various Moroccan teams competing in professional tournaments, under the pretext that it is part of the country's symbols.
The Amazigh coordination and associations (22 bodies) noted in a letter addressed to the President of the Federation, on Friday, "the deficiencies in organizing football matches, as well as in receiving the national team after its return to the land of Morocco," noting the absence of the use of the official Amazigh language.
The bodies called for activating the official character of the Amazigh language in the Royal Football University, stressing that this is based on what is decided by the regulatory law for this language, which was approved by Parliament and issued in the Official Gazette in October 2019.
In this context, these umbrella bodies called for not only accompanying journalists and sports descriptions in Arabic and French, pointing out that most of the players and their accompanying crews speak their mother tongues, Amazigh.
"Renewed controversy with the World Cup"
The debate about the Amazigh language was renewed recently in the midst of the widespread Moroccan and international celebration of the Moroccan national team's historic achievement of reaching the semi-finals in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, where controversy arose over the identity and characterization of the Moroccan national team: Does it represent the Arabs or the Amazigh?
A number of Amazigh events raised this controversy after the popular reception enjoyed by the members of the Moroccan national team in Rabat, last Tuesday, when they criticized the appearance of the bus that took them from Salé Airport to the Royal Palace, on which was written "Morocco" in Arabic and English, and the absence of Amazigh.
The writer and researcher in Amazigh culture, Ahmed Asaid, wrote in a post on his Facebook account, about "disruptions that spoiled the great welcome ceremony of the Moroccan national team," by ignoring the official character of the Amazigh language, while the Amazigh activist, Abdullah Badu, wrote, "Unfortunately ... even in our celebrations of our victories." The little girl is amateurs and ?racists
On the other hand, the official spokesman for the Moroccan government, Mustafa Paytas, denied, during a press conference that followed the last meeting of the government council, that the Amazigh file had been affected by any prejudice, stressing in his response to the absence of Amazigh women in the bus that transported the Atlas Lions that “the government has decided on the issue of Amazigh, which is It is proceeding with the implementation of its pledges in this direction gradually.
Source: websites