Abdelouhad, a sanitation worker with the local municipality, came to Belgium in 2005 from the Moroccan capital Rabat.
On November 27, his country of origin and the country he now calls home will face each other at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The last – and only – time Belgium’s Red Devils and Morocco’s Atlas Lions played each other in the World Cup was in the US in 1994. Morocco lost, Al-Jazeera.com reported the other day.
Abdelouhad, who was wearing track pants and a cap, was unequivocal about which team he will support. “Morocco, of course, my country,” he said.
Abdelouhad, a sanitation worker with the local municipality, came to Belgium in 2005 from the Moroccan capital Rabat.
On November 27, his country of origin and the country he now calls home will face each other at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The last – and only – time Belgium’s Red Devils and Morocco’s Atlas Lions played each other in the World Cup was in the US in 1994. Morocco lost.
Abdelouhad, who was wearing track pants and a cap, was unequivocal about which team he will support. “Morocco, of course, my country,” he said.
But if Morocco gets knocked out, he’ll support Belgium. “They play well. They have good players,” he said, referring to footballers like Manchester City superstar Kevin De Bruyne, considered one of the best midfielders of his generation. He’s also a fan of Argentina.
Abdelouhad said it was natural that he would support the Red Devils. “This country has given me a lot,” he said, smiling, a band on one wrist saying Belgium. “I’m happy, I have a job. My son is at school with his friends.”
Nearly 20 percent of Belgium’s more than 11.5 million people are of foreign origin, with roughly 500,000 people of Moroccan descent, constituting the country’s largest non-European Union population and one of the largest Moroccan diasporas.
For people in Belgium with identities linked to both countries, the choice of which team to support is not always an easy one and for some, it seems less about picking a side than the order in which to support the two national teams. Courtesy: Al-Jazeera.com
