Despite the powerful earthquake that struck Marrakech on Friday night, the African Cup of Nations qualifier between Gambia and Congo will proceed as scheduled on Sunday. This devastating earthquake has claimed over 1,000 lives and left hundreds injured.
In contrast, Saturday’s match between Morocco and Liberia, taking place 260 kilometers away in Agadir, has been postponed due to its distance from the earthquake’s epicenter.
Following the magnitude 6.8 quake that struck the High Atlas mountains and caused damage in Marrakech, both the Gambia and Congo squads spent the night sleeping by their hotel pools. This earthquake marks the deadliest tremor in the country in more than 60 years.
Despite the traumatic experience, both teams have been instructed to continue with their match on Sunday. This game, determining the final qualifier alongside Group G winners Mali, is being held in Marrakech because Gambia lacks a suitable stadium for international matches.
Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet expressed his surprise at the differing decisions, stating, “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.”
CAF has confirmed this decision without providing further comment.
Congo coach Paul Put reported that his players were physically unharmed but emotionally affected. “We are OK but still in shock. Mentally it’s difficult to keep up the concentration. We had to sleep outside, near the swimming pool,” he told Reuters.
Morocco had already secured their place in the finals along with South Africa from Group K, making their match against Liberia of academic interest. In light of the earthquake’s impact on certain Moroccan regions, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation has announced the postponement of the Morocco vs. Liberia match to a later date, with the approval of the Confederation of African Football. The federation also extended its condolences to the earthquake victims’ families and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
