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Morocco’s Royal Football Federation (FRMF) and Israel Football Association (IFA) have agreed to organize friendly games between their respective national teams.
FRMF President Fouzi Lekjaa met through videoconference with his Israeli counterpart, Oren Hasson, on Friday, January 1.
During the meeting, the first of its kind between the two institutions, Lekjaa and Hasson agreed to launch talks in the coming days in order to create joint working committees, IFA said in a statement.
The committees would work on strengthening cooperation between FRMF and IFA and organize matches between the Moroccan and Israeli national teams.
During the meeting, Lekjaa invited his Israeli counterpart to visit Morocco.
“We have a lot to learn from you. I thank you for the invitation to visit Morocco and I would like to invite you, as well as FRMF representatives, to come to Israel,” Hasson responded.
Lekjaa expressed his excitement about the meeting, saying cooperation between Morocco and Israel in the field of football has long been awaited.
“I welcome this conversation that we have been waiting for many years. Thanks to the brave move of King Mohammed VI, we have the opportunity to strengthen the ties between our peoples through football,” he said.
Hasson shared a similar enthusiasm, stressing that the hundreds of thousands of Israelis with Moroccan roots are happy because of the recent developments in Morocco-Israel relations.
“We have a rare opportunity … to offer a better future to our young people and your own. I have no doubt that what begins on the pitch will thrive everywhere else. For us, this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship,” he commented.
Morocco’s Atlas Lions have never played against Israel. A game between the two national teams would be unprecedented.
