Power Outage Disrupts Morocco-Brazil U23 Match, Raises Concerns for Fès Stadium

This match was crucial for the city of Fès, which was seeking to position itself as a serious candidate to host international competitions. The blackout sowed confusion among the supporters in the stadium and the television viewers who were following the match on the TV Arryadia channel, recalls L’Économiste.

The match eventually resumed and ended in a victory for Morocco, with a goal by Zakaria El Ouahdi in the 73rd minute. Nevertheless, the power outage is considered by several observers as a "big blunder" for a country bidding for major events. They call for upgrades to the sports complex and disciplinary measures for those responsible for this incident. A deputy from the city even demanded "necessary disciplinary measures".

According to RADEEF, the company delegated to manage the electricity service, the outage was due to a technical problem that affected several neighborhoods, not just the stadium. The sports complex had already hosted a match in 2008, featuring Zinedine Zidane and Luis Nazario de Lima Ronaldo, which had gone off without a hitch. At the time, precautionary measures such as generators had been put in place.