Morocco have been the story of the 2022 FIFA World Cup as the Atlas Lions became the first African nation to qualify for the semi-finals, yet why are they shown as MAR on our television screens?
Walid Regragui’s side are on the cusp of history today as Morocco face France in a fixture that could see an African country, as well as a Muslim nation, reach the final of the World Cup, something that has never happened in the history of the competition.
Morocco have touched the hearts of millions around the world for their resilient style of football and for showing many of the smaller nations in the game that anybody can reach the semi-finals of a World Cup. Yet why are the Atlas Lions shown as MAR?
Why is Morocco called MAR?
Occam’s Razor is the principle that the correct answer is usually the one that makes the most sense, and the same logic applies to why Morocco is shown as MAR in international football matches.
Why the county of Morocco is named as such in the English-speaking world, the north African nation is officially called Maroc, the French spelling of the country as a majority of the population speak the language despite Arabic and Berber being the official languages of Morocco.
Indeed, abbreviations to suit a country’s name in their language is something we have not only seen in international football for decades but also something that has been used in this very World Cup, with Spain having the initials ESP for Espana and Saudi Arabia using KSA for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Atlas Lions will hope to create history against France
Whether it’s Morocco or Maroc, many neutrals will be supporting Regragui’s side tonight as they take on Didier Dechamp’s France, with the reigning World Cup holders the strong favourites to make it a second consecutive final in the competition.
However, as we have seen plenty of times in Qatar this winter, there’s no such thing as a favourite, and Morocco will be looking to claim another historic scalp at the World Cup when they take on France in what will be the Atlas Lions’ biggest match ever on the international stage.
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