Morocco’s El-Ahmadi Reveals National Team Choice: Loyalty Over Opportunity

While he was invited to play for the Dutch national team, Karim El Ahmadi preferred to opt for the Moroccan U20 team, which had shown interest in him. "Helping Morocco become greater was one of my goals," El Ahmadi specified.

According to the former Moroccan international, playing for Morocco is an indescribable feeling. He claims he was well aware that the Netherlands represented a great opportunity. "Participation in the World Cup at every edition, great players, etc. But I had the sole desire to help the country of my parents achieve something great," he added.

The Moroccan midfielder also returned to the conditions of choice for Morocco. According to him, this decision is not always easy for dual nationals. For his parents, it is up to him to choose what he wants, because "the international choice is very hard for a dual national. After making the choice, you will always have one side that will be happy, and the other side that will boycott you".

Referring to the example of Ibrahim Afellay who chose the Netherlands, Karim El Ahmadi said that it is just a choice. "But that doesn’t mean he has nothing Moroccan anymore. Some players like me choose with the heart, others with the brain..." he clarified. While continuing his comment, he maintains that these dual nationals have nothing Dutch and remain pure Moroccans. "Personally, I didn’t bother thinking that far. For me, it was Morocco directly. I didn’t even want to be confronted with a scenario where the two sides put pressure on me to choose to play with them," he concluded.