Moroccan Football Team Opts for Alternative Match Amid Financial Disputes with Argentina
Recent reports indicate that the ongoing international break for the Moroccan national football team was initially set to feature a prestigious friendly match against Argentina. However, the Moroccan Football Federation ultimately rejected this encounter due to what observers termed excessive financial demands from the Argentine side. Consequently, Morocco scheduled a friendly match against Ghana, which was later canceled and replaced with a fixture against Mali.
Today, the Moroccan national team, which has already celebrated victories in its first two matches of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Gabon and Lesotho, is set to face Mali at the Grand Stadium of Tangier. This matchup comes after the Ghanaian side decided to withdraw from traveling to Morocco due to internal issues between the players and the football federation.
According to French journalist Romain Molina, Morocco had aimed to host a high-profile friendly against Argentina, the 2022 World Cup champions and the runners-up of the recent 2026 edition. However, the Moroccan Football Federation encountered prohibitive financial requests from their Argentine counterparts, leading to the cancellation of the proposal altogether. Molina noted that the Argentine federation initially suggested holding the match in Buenos Aires, where they are currently organizing three friendly matches, two of which have already taken place against Bolivia and Burkina Faso, with a third scheduled for next Wednesday against Benin.
Molina elaborated that Morocco's refusal to play the match abroad prompted Argentina to demand one million euros for the privilege of playing against the Atlas Lions. This request was firmly declined by Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of the Moroccan Football Federation, resulting in the decision to discard the idea of hosting the match, primarily due to its hefty price tag of approximately 1.5 million euros. The cost of organizing the match was estimated between 400,000 to 500,000 euros, plus the Argentine federation's one million euro demand, making the total cost of hosting Lionel Messi and his teammates nearly 1.5 million euros.
Additionally, reports have highlighted the dire conditions faced by the Burkina Faso national team during their recent friendly match in Argentina, which took place in Buenos Aires early this morning, resulting in a staggering 7-0 victory for Argentina.
As reported by eremnews.com.
