Hakim Ben Abdullah, president of Nahdet Berkane Club, considered that the Confederation Cup semi-final against Algeria’s USM Algiers has become “a page from the past,” adding that “the team is heading to an important final against Egyptian Zamalek, and we hope that the cup will be ours and the share of Moroccan football.” “.
Ben Abdullah, in a statement following the announcement of RS Berkane’s qualification to the final after the Algerian club withdrew in the second leg of the semi-final, was keen to express his gratitude to the Moroccan fans for their support, and said: “I thank the fans for the trouble of coming to the stadium and for their support of RS Berkane.”
Mounir El Kadri Boudchich, Vice President of Nahdet Berkane, also considered that “the match that was not held would have been an African football wedding between two neighbors…but, unfortunately, the USMA refused to participate, and the meeting carried political dimensions far from sports.”
Al-Qadri said that RS Berkane and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation provided all the conditions for the visiting team, including warm reception and hospitality, “in the belief that sports are a bridge of morality and a kind of parallel diplomacy to unite peoples and spread peace.”
It is worth noting that the second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup semi-final, which was scheduled for Sunday at the municipal stadium in Berkane, did not take place due to the Algerian club USM Algiers abstaining from playing the match due to the presence of the map of Morocco on the “RSB” shirt, and the first leg was not held either, After the Algerian authorities detained the Moroccan team’s shirts at Houari Boumediene Airport for the same reason, CAF announced the victory of RS Berkane in both matches by a score of 6-0.
