‘The Sahara is ours; its river and land are ours,’ chant Morocco football team

A video is circulating online of the Moroccan national football team chanting, “the Sahara is ours; its river and land are ours.”

Disturbing to see anti-imperialists celebrate Morocco as it waves the Palestinian flag to whitewash the ongoing colonization of the Western Sahara. Here, after defeating Spain, Moroccan players chant “the Sahara is our, its river and land are ours” pic.twitter.com/RqsHjLVx32

— Dan Cohen (@dancohen3000) December 10, 2022

The Western Sahara, on the northwest coast of Africa, is a former Spanish colony that was annexed by Morocco in 1975.

It is thought that there are mineral resources in the Western Sahara and significant offshore oil reserves.

Its indigenous people, the Saharawis, and the independence movement the Polisario Front, have been engaged in a dispute with Morocco over the Western Sahara since 1975, with the promise of a UN referendum on independence never materialising.

In December 2020 then US President Donald Trump announced that the US would recognise the Western Sahara as part of Morocco’s kingdom and that Israel and Morocco would normalise ties.

The announcement was part of a US-brokered normalisation deal between Morocco and Israel.

The video of the Moroccan national team followed their win against Portugal last week, which made them the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final.

READ: Morocco advances to World Cup quarter-finals after beating Spain on penalties