If Morocco were to win with players who did not choose their country

What was that story about nobody wanting to watch Trump and Infantino’s World Cup? The other evening, for the Brazil v Morocco match, Rai achieved a 45 per cent audience share – goodbye, Sanremo; unless they were all second-generation Italians of Moroccan origin. Setting that aside, the matter takes on considerable significance, and not just in football terms: Morocco are a great team; they might even go all the way (after all, they’ve already won the Africa Cup of Nations, albeit by default: just to show they’re a football association with guts, unlike the FIGC). The new star, Bouaddi, aged 19, was born in France and made his debut for the French youth teams. He then chose his parents’ country of origin. The French superstar Mbappé, being the down-to-earth lad that he is, said: “People would like me to stand for President of the Republic, but I’m not thinking about it.” Who knows what might happen with the Moroccans, though. There is this remarkable situation, hailed with cheers by everyone (except perhaps Vannacci and the Maga): the other evening, they had 11 players on the pitch who weren’t born in Morocco.

We used to call them ‘oriundi’; we had Sivori. Today, however, they are second-generation French, Spanish, Dutch or Canadians. Born in those countries to parents from Morocco, they have all chosen to play for their ancestral homeland. Wonderful, ça va sans dire – just imagine if Messi had made the same choice. But speaking of wonderful things and intercultural celebrations, it’s worth taking a step back and asking ourselves: could it be that all eleven of these players (in fact, 73 per cent of Morocco’s squad weren’t born on Moroccan soil) have a bit of a problem integrating into their new national contexts? Come on, surely they have at least one emotional connection that doesn’t quite feel genuine? In short, they’re French but don’t want to be fully French. But not like Mbappé, who simply doesn’t want to steal Macron’s job. They’re integrated, but then again, they’re not. They’re affluent and doing just fine; none of them could even remotely imagine themselves becoming radicalised. However, to take this a step further: imagine what might happen if the Atlas Lions were actually to win the cup. How many young French or Spanish people of second- or third-generation Moroccan origin would rediscover that their true sense of belonging lies elsewhere? We are living in rather turbulent times when it comes to immigration and integration (and thank God Northern Ireland is not taking part), but after the Champions League final – which PSG went on to win, mind you; imagine if they had lost – many young people who set fire to the French banlieues had the same background as Bouaddi. Just imagine what the celebrations would be like (no, we’re not picturing anything violent: just a pure outpouring of joy at the affirmation of their roots). It would be an interesting social experiment. Just to get ahead of ourselves.