Confusion Surrounds Morocco's Second Representative in the Confederation Cup
As of now, the Moroccan Royal Football Federation and the National Professional Football League have yet to finalize the identity of the second team that will represent Morocco in the upcoming African Confederation Cup alongside Raja Casablanca, who concluded the professional league in third place. Despite various reports suggesting that the Royal Army team, which finished fourth in the league, could be the second representative, there has been no official statement from either the federation or the league to confirm this, leading to numerous questions regarding the legal basis that will determine the identity of the fourth team competing at the continental level.
Legal Precedents and the Challenge of the Throne Cup
It is customary for the top two teams in the professional league to qualify for the African Champions League, while the third position and the winner of the Throne Cup earn spots in the Confederation Cup. Based on the current league standings, both FUS Rabat and RS Berkane have secured their places in the Champions League, while Raja Casablanca has clinched its first berth in the Confederation Cup. However, the dilemma rests with identifying the second representative, as the Throne Cup competitions for the 2024-2025 season remain unfinished. The National Professional Football League announced yesterday that the remaining matches of the tournament will be postponed until the beginning of the next season, with a delayed match between the Royal Army and the Moroccan Stade scheduled for July 8.
Simultaneously, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is expected to finalize the list of participating clubs in continental competitions by July 25, creating a pressing timeline for this matter. The core issue lies in the absence of a clear regulatory text governing this exceptional situation, specifically when the Throne Cup champion has not been determined prior to the submission of the lists of participating clubs.
This legal vacuum has prompted various interpretations in recent days, with some arguing that logic dictates granting the spot to the Royal Army as the fourth-placed team, while others contend that the most recent Throne Cup champion, Olympic Safi, should be prioritized until the current season's champion is known.
This situation is reminiscent of the 2018-2019 season when Hassania Agadir finished third and directly qualified for the Confederation Cup. At that time, the Throne Cup had also not concluded, raising the theoretical possibility of granting the second spot to Olympic Safi, which had finished fourth. However, the decision diverged significantly, allowing RS Berkane to participate in the Confederation Cup for the 2019-2020 season as the reigning Throne Cup champion from the 2017-2018 season, even though they had already benefitted from that title to compete in the 2018-2019 edition as well.
Consequently, Berkane participated in the Confederation Cup for two consecutive seasons, leveraging a single Throne Cup victory, and achieved the remarkable feat of winning the continental title in 2020, despite finishing the previous season in seventh place, a standing that wouldn't normally qualify them for continental competition through the league.
The question now arises: will the same logic apply to Olympic Safi, being the last team to win the Throne Cup, thus granting them a spot in the Confederation Cup? Or will the federation opt this time to adhere to the league standings and award the spot to the Royal Army as the fourth-placed team? Thus far, no official entity has provided a definitive answer to this question, adding to the uncertainty surrounding this issue. In an effort to clarify the situation, SNRTnews reached out to the President of the National Professional Football League, Abdel Salam Belkhashour, and the league's Secretary General, Khaled Maghafi, to obtain insights regarding the legal mechanism that will be employed to determine the Moroccan representative.
As reported by snrtnews.com.
