An African Cup of Nations qualifier between Morocco and Liberia has been postponed in the aftermath of a horrific earthquake on Friday night.
The 6.8-magnitude quake’s epicenter was 47 miles from Marrakech, in the High Atlas mountain range. A 4.9-magnitude aftershock was recorded around 20 minutes later.
Morocco’s Interior Ministry told the Washington Post that over 1,000 people are dead, with thousands more injured. A preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey said that it had been over 100 years since a quake of this strength had occurred in the region.
Morocco’s qualifier against Liberia, the final game in Group J, was set for Adrar Stadium in Agadir, a city on the Atlantic coast a little over 100 miles southeast of the earthquake’s epicenter.
“Following the earthquake that struck some areas in Morocco, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation announces the postponement of the match that was scheduled to take place on Saturday evening, September 9, 2023,” read a statement from the Moroccan federation. “After this great injury, the national football family extends its deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and wishes a speedy recovery to all those injured.”
The statement said that the qualifier would be played “at a later date” once the federation and Moroccan authorities could work out a suitable option with the African Football Confederation (AFC).
Gambia vs. Congo match in Marrakech to go ahead
The match between Morocco and Liberia was not the only game impacted by the earthquake. Gambia, obliged to play its home qualifiers in Morocco and Senegal after the AFC determined that no Gambian stadium was suitable to host, is due to take on Congo in Marrakech on Sunday in Group G’s final game.
Reuters reported on Saturday that both teams spent the night sleeping outdoors after evacuating their hotels, and that the AFC had confirmed that the game would go ahead as planned.
“We have been told our match on Sunday must go ahead. It’s quite strange that the Morocco game is off but ours is not… we think it is best this game is postponed because the mood among the players is understandably somber and everyone is a little scared.” said Gambia manager Tom Saintfiet.
“We are okay but still in shock,” added Paul Put, Congo’s manager. “Mentally it’s difficult to keep up the concentration. We had to sleep outside, near the swimming pool. It was very scary and even now a complicated situation for the players.”
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