Sakina Ouzraoui calls for football to bridge Morocco’s regional rivalries at WAFCON

Sakina Ouzraoui has urged Morocco, Senegal and Algeria to preserve mutual respect despite their political and sporting rivalries during the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

The Morocco forward delivered her message after the Atlas Lionesses drew 0-0 with Senegal, saying football should remain a force for unity even when tensions between countries extend beyond the pitch.

Ouzraoui was speaking in the mixed zone after Morocco’s second group-stage meeting of the tournament. The Barcelona-born player highlighted the sense of fraternity that should exist between African national teams, regardless of the history or circumstances surrounding their encounters.

Morocco had already faced Algeria in the competition, beating them 1-0 before sharing the points with Senegal. Those two fixtures carried particular significance because both opponents have complicated relationships with Morocco.

Meetings between Morocco and Senegal have become more sensitive since controversies surrounding the final of the 2025 men’s Africa Cup of Nations. Relations between Morocco and Algeria remain especially strained at political level, notably because of the dispute over Western Sahara.

Against that backdrop, Ouzraoui’s intervention represented a direct appeal for calm. Her message was that rivalries, whether sporting, historical, identity-based or political, should not turn into hostility between players or peoples.

The midfielder’s comments also underlined the wider role football can play across the continent. Matches between national teams can bring together countries that may be distant or divided in other areas, while creating a shared language through sport.

For Morocco, that principle has been tested throughout the tournament. The Atlas Lionesses overcame Algeria in their opening meeting with a 1-0 victory, then held Senegal to a goalless draw.

Their attention now turns to the knockout stages and another demanding challenge. Morocco will face South Africa in the quarter-finals on Saturday, with a place in the semi-finals at stake.

The fixture gives Ouzraoui and her team the opportunity to continue their campaign on the field, while the player’s message has added a broader dimension to Morocco’s progress in the competition.

With regional rivalries never far from the background, she has insisted that competition should not erase solidarity. Her appeal is for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations to remain a meeting point between African nations, rather than another arena in which political tensions are allowed to dominate.

The quarter-final against South Africa will therefore determine whether Morocco can reach the last four, but Ouzraoui’s intervention has already offered one of the tournament’s clearest reminders that sporting rivalry does not have to mean hatred.