Jerseys and Cartography: RSB-USMA Turns into a Diplomatic Saga

Football, undoubtedly, is a global phenomenon in which even a simple CAF semi-final transforms into a politically charged sporting odyssey as captivating as an afternoon soap opera. In a farcical scenario that would challenge even the greatest satirists, the football saga between USMA of Algiers and RSB of Berkane continues to make headlines.

In the latest development, the delegation of Union Sportive de la Médina d'Alger (USMA) landed at Oujda-Angad Airport at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 26,  aboard an Egyptair flight, with the full approval of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Transport and Logistics of the Kingdom.

They were warmly welcomed at Oujda Airport by representatives of RSB, embodying the Moroccan hospitality in its most heartfelt form. USMA then headed to Saïdia for a comfortable two-day stay at one of the city's most prestigious hotels. Some have questioned the intentions of USMA with this trip. Are the players truly here to play football?

Toufik Kourichi, the sports director of USMA, had made it clear before setting foot on Moroccan soil, in a "talk all you want" statement to the press in the East of Eden, "If the same scenario repeats itself and RSB shows up on match day with jerseys bearing the Moroccan map, USMA will withdraw from the match. If the opponent plays without the map, we will proceed with the match as usual, as the map is prohibited by the rules of FIFA and CAF." A statement that the CAF continues to contradict in its numerous correspondences with the leaders of USMA.

And so, here they are, far from merely preparing for a sporting contest, already brandishing the threat of withdrawal if the opponent dares to display the Moroccan map, which, however, has been approved by the African football authorities. Meanwhile, RSB remains unperturbed, an oasis of hospitality in the desert of diplomatic tensions, welcoming the visiting team at the airport before transferring them to a five-star hotel.

The RSB players, ready to battle on the pitch, continue their preparations calmly and invite their fans to a spectacle that, hopefully, will not be played out in the political corridors but on the field, under the stadium floodlights in Berkane. Otherwise, the orange team will qualify for the CAF Cup final by default, with a 3-0 victory without even touching the ball, not to mention the potential sanctions awaiting USMA.

That being said, this noble gesture of hospitality contrasts in an almost comical way with the Kafkaesque odyssey endured by the Berkanis on Algerian soil, where they were held at the airport for 14 hours and stripped of their jerseys bearing the image of Morocco, an act that dangerously flirted with diplomatic farce. As if football jerseys could redraw geopolitical boundaries!

So, should we see in this sporting duel a metaphor for the broader tensions that permeate the Maghreb? This confrontation, intended to be a sporting event, has taken on the character of a showdown between David and Goliath under the scorching sun,or should we say between jerseys and geographical maps. The episode of the confiscated jerseys by the Algerian authorities, with the Moroccan cartography asserting its territorial integrity, seems to have become a state affair for the senile powers next door.

What can be said about this situation where the round ball becomes the theater for geopolitical claims? If we are to believe the echoes from the stands, this cartographic dispute extends beyond the green fields and finds itself on the slippery terrain of international politics. The irony of it all is that the football field, where only goals and fouls should matter, turns into a space where national borders are defended as fiercely as the goals themselves.

Although this story reminds us that in the grand tournament of nations, football is sometimes much more than a game, the RSB-USMA match provides a perfect illustration of the adage that football is not just a sport but also a mirror of society, reflecting its tensions, passions, and politics.

This encounter is a microcosm of the contemporary world, where the lines between sport and politics are becoming increasingly blurred, proving that sports are far from being mere games but rather global stakes