Algerian Media Claims Morocco’s Soccer Success Funded by Drug Money

Ennahar tv, known for its hostile productions against Morocco and its proximity to the authorities, broadcast a video in which it accuses the kingdom of having developed Moroccan football and achieved the 2022 World Cup feat thanks to the trafficking of "cannabis" and "cocaine". "The exploits of the Moroccan national team and the trophies of Wydad are tainted by the money of zetla (hashish)," comments the Algerian television channel. According to the Algerian media, these accusations are judicial confessions of a hashish trafficker known by the nicknames of "African Escobar" and "finance baron". But the video does not contain enough details on the original source, the identity of the person in question or other information that would corroborate the facts.

Said Nassiri, president of the Wydad Casablanca football club, is said to have received 3.5 million euros from an unidentified source. According to the media, Fouzi Lekjaâ, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), would have "offered" in 2017 the Moroccan TV presenter Bouchra Ddeau, presented in the video as a girl named Ghizlane, to the former president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Ahmed Ahmed, in exchange for several favors from the CAF. These unsubstantiated allegations have provoked reactions from Moroccan Internet users. The Algerian regime "clearly admits its failure" to develop the country’s football while Morocco continues on its momentum, they comment.