Some 30 special flights between Casablanca and Doha will take off by Wednesday to allow Moroccan fans to watch their team’s semi-final against France.
Never seen. The national company Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has decided to operate nearly 30 special flights between Casablanca and Doha on Tuesday and Wednesday in order to transport Moroccan supporters for the semi-final of the World Cup against France. “To allow the many Moroccans wishing to support the national team in its epic and to experience the emotion of the semi-final of the World Cup […]Royal Air Maroc has set up a real air bridge between Casablanca and Doha”, trumpet a statement from the RAM published this Monday.
“Has a historical qualification, a historical device”, boasts the airline: nearly 30 flights will be provided by “jumbo jets” on the eve and the day of the match between Mohammed V airport in Casablanca, the most populous city in the kingdom, and Doha. Hoping that all the fans will be able to board, after a few hiccups at Casablanca airport before Saturday’s quarter-final against Portugal, according to testimonies from Internet users.
“The 12th man on the team”
In Doha, Walid Regragui, the coach of Morocco, paid tribute on several occasions to the Moroccan supporters, “the 12th man on the team”. “The selection must bring together all Moroccans. At one point, we were divided. If we were able to bring our people together around football, that’s good. he said in particular.
The Moroccan contingent is not the only one to impress in these semi-finals: according to estimates by the Argentine Embassy in Qatar, between 35,000 and 40,000 Argentines had planned to go to the World Cup, one of the largest groups of supporters with those of Mexico and Saudi Arabia, some fans having saved up for four years to pay for the trip. Especially since the Albiceleste is also supported by thousands of Indians and Bangladeshis employed in the Gulf country and traditionally fans of Argentina.
This case of an airlift between Morocco and Doha is not the first of its kind in this World Cup. Just before the start of the competition, Fifa announced that direct charter flights would allow Israeli and Palestinian supporters to reach Qatar during the FIFA World Cup, while the two states do not maintain diplomatic relations. Few figures have leaked out on the actual number of Palestinians who reached the Gulf country by this route, while they traditionally pass through Jordan to reach Doha.