Nigeria’s next squad to the Championship of African Nations (CHAN) can learn many lessons from Morocco’s team at the ongoing edition, where the Atlas Lions’ coach, Tarik Sektioui has hinted that ‘responsibility to the nation’ is a huge factor guiding their surge to the semi-finals.
With corporate support from Showtime, a leading brand in football development, Sports247 was live at the post-match conference after Oussama Lamlioui’s 65th minute goal helped Morocco send one of the three co-hosts, Tanzania packing on Friday.
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The game at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar-es-Salaam lived up to its billing as a potentially explosive cracker, as Tanzania’s players were determined to continue their fairy tale ride as ‘the Cinderella squad’ of CHAN 2024.
However, it was the Moroccans who showed that they did not achieve with light fingers all the records they have in this competition’s history – the first host to win it in 2018 and, with a second title in 2020, they are also the first country to win it back-to-back.
They are now on course towards becoming the first country to win three editions of the competition for home-based players in the domestic leagues of their respective African countries.
Morocco currently share the record of two titles apiece with DR Congo, who could not even qualify for this year’s CHAN, while their neighbours, Congo Republic were sent packing by a 2-0 loss to already eliminated Nigeria on Tuesday.
The onus is now on Morocco to etch more milestones into the anals of CHAN and Sektioui believes his players are up to the task, considering that they take the task of winning matches as a sign of national responsibility to their country.
Sektioui explained: “We are serious about the responsibility that we are on. We have very good players with a lot of quality, and they are working with responsibility.
“We are here as the Moroccan national team from our country. We must do everything that makes our country and our people proud of us. That’s our task.”
Sports247 noted the passion in his voice, with a hint that the lessons Nigeria can pick are that CHAN is best prosecuted by an indigenous coach and the team must have players who are not regarded as ‘B-squad.’
Such was the aura that was exuded in the post-match speech by Sektioui, who played professional football overseas with FC Porto of Portugal and AJ Auxerre of France, then returned home to coach Wydad Athletic and Berkane among others.
He was appointed to handle Morocco’s CHAN team just a month before the competition began and now is on the threshold of showing Nigeria how to be successful in this championship that is considered second fiddle by football egg heads in Africa’s most populous nation.
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