Mauritania Denies Algerian Claims of Moroccan Funding for AFCON Team

The FFRIM reacted to the publications of the Algerian media that insinuate that Morocco would have financed the preparation of the Mauritanian national team in Tunisia as well as its stay in Côte d’Ivoire as part of the Africa Cup of Nations. "According to these rumors, this coverage included the accommodation, air transport of the Mauritanian delegation and the provision of various logistics, including sports equipment, among other things," the Mauritanian Federation recalled in a statement written in Arabic and French, before firmly denying these allegations.

"Faced with this rumor devoid of any foundation, the Mauritanian Football Federation wishes to assure that this information which has unfortunately been widely disseminated is totally false. It is obvious to the Mauritanian government and the FFRIM that the issue of financing national teams is a sovereign matter that is not the subject of any discussion," it specified.

The Mauritanian sports authority stresses that it "has never accepted - and will never do so - that any party whatsoever interferes in the coverage of national teams, whether in terms of accommodation, the organization of internal or external training camps, or the acquisition of sports equipment." It calls for "caution in the face of these false information, which only aim to destabilize the national team on the eve of a decisive match."

On social networks, some Algerian accounts have also disseminated information according to which the Mauritania U20 team is currently undergoing a concentration stage in Morocco, with all expenses covered by the kingdom.