World Soccer - UK (2021-10)

M

orocco’s bid

fora return to

theWorldCup

finalswill be

spearheaded

bythe

Spanish-

bornMunirEl Haddadi,theformer

Barcelonaprodigy, whomthenorth

Africanshaveinvestedmucheffort

andresourceinprocuring.

Hehas overcomeseveral legal

blockstomaketheswitchfrom

Spain to Morocco,andwill be the

leadattackerinMorocco’s African

qualifiersfor Qatar 2022 against

Sudan,GuineaandGuinea-Bissau

inGroupIamidmuchexpectation.

The26-year-oldSevillaforward

isamongthe first footballersto

profitfromanothertweakinFIFA’s

nationalitylaws,althoughnotwithout

muchdramaandperseverance on the

partof hisparents’home country.

Itbeganbeforethelast World

Cupin Russia,when

Moroccomadea

cheekybidtoget

himinto theirsquad

forthe 2018 finals.

Yet,becausehehad

alreadyplayed for

Spain in aEuropean

Championship

qualifieragainstMacedoniain

September 2014 , whenhecameon

asa substituteandplayedlessthan

15 minutes,thiswas notallowed.

Thenthe FIFA rulesonnationality

switcheswereclear: youcouldchange

allegiance only if youhad notplayed

a competitivefull international.But

Moroccopersistedto theCourt of

ArbitrationforSport,whokicked

outtheircase.

Atthe FIFA Congressoneyearago,

Moroccoproposed a changetothe

rulesina directbidtogetMunireligible.

Theirproposal,thatplayerscould

switchcountriesiftheyhaveplayed

nomorethanthreeinternationalsat

seniorlevel,withallthe appearances

comingbefore theplayer turns 21 ,

wasaccepted.AppearancesinWorld

Cupfinalsorcontinentalfinals,such

asthe EuropeanChampionshipor

AfricaCupof Nations wouldprohibit

a changeofeligibility, butappearing

ina qualifierwouldnot.

Moroccothenappliedfor Munir’s

nationalityto change,onlyforFIFA

toagainrejectit– notbecauseofhis

singleseniorcap,but becausehehad

playedfor Spain’s Under-21sa few

monthsafter turning 21.

Morefuriouslobbying,andsome

politicalhorse-tradingaroundthe

Confederation of AfricanFootball

presidentialelections,thenledFIFA

todecidethattheruleontheage

limitwouldonlyapplyfromthe date

ofthe last Congress,thereforeallowing

Munir to makehisMoroccodebut.

ItcameinanAfricaCupof Nations

qualifieragainst Mauritania,which

endedgoalless,and wasfollowed

fourdayslaterbya secondcapin a

match-winningperformanceagainst

Burundi,wherehescoredthe game’s

onlygoalasMoroccofinishedthe

campaigntop of theirgroup.Hehas

sincefeaturedintwo Junefriendlies.

Munir wasa teenagesensationwith

Barcelonabuthasnotyetlivedupto

hisearly

potential,

goingout

onloanto

Valencia

andthen

Deportivo

Alaves

before

movingtoSevilla in early 2019.

Moroccomightoffer himtheoutlet

thathefailedtograbwith Spain,but

heisunderimmensepressureto

deliveronall theeffortthatthe

footballassociationhavemade

toget himintotheirteam.

MarkGleeson

Ventspils reached thethird qualifying
round,whichguaranteed€ 780 ,000
inUEFA prizemoneyandwerethen
thrashed6-0 in PortugalbyVitoriade
Guimaraesinanothergamemarked
bysuspiciousbettingmovements.
Shishkhanov wasoften at odds
withtheLatvianFootball Federation
(LFF)andwasbannedtwicefor
abusingmatchofficials.InApril 2020 ,
heofficiallyresignedasVentspils
presidentbuta EuropaLeaguequalifier
thatsummer betweenthecluband
MoldovansideDinamo-AutoTiraspol
wasremoved from some betting
markets beforekick-off.
InAugust 2020 , Shishkhanov was
putona Latvianstate blacklistforhis
involvementina criminalcaserelating
toallegedlyhiddensalarypayments, and
finallyin JunecameUEFA’s lifetime ban.
Shishkhanovwillnotbebackbut
thematch-fixinghasnotgoneawayin
Latvia.A monthaftertheVentspilsban,
theLFFsuspendedthreeplayersfrom
Armenian-ownedclubNoahJurmala
forayear. Thecasehasbeenpassed
toLatvianstateprosecutors,whohave
triedtotackletheprobleminthepast,
butthe threebannedplayersfrom
Serbia,Ghanaandthe Ukraineare
likelytobelonggonefromtheBaltic
before anyprosecutionarrives.
SteveMenary

WRLDSCCER 21

Morocco...Munir

celebratesscoring

hisfirstinternational

goalagainstBurundi

MunirElHaddadi

Pressureisontheforwardtodeliverafterhis

long-awaitedswitchfromSpaintoMorocco

PEPLEANDPLACESINTHENEWS

[Munir] is amongthefirstfootballers

toprofitfrom anothertweakinFIFA’s

nationalitylaws,although notwithout

muchdramaandperseveranceonthe

partof hisparents’homecountry

LaRoja...Munir

onhisonlypain

capbackin 2014