Thousands of Moroccans flooded Rabat, the capital city of Morocco to welcome home their national football team, the first Arab and African team ever to play in the semi-final of a World Cup.
The players and their coach, Walid Regragui, waved from an open-roof bus as they were driven from the airport and around central Rabat. They were accompanied by many police cars and motorbikes with flashing lights and wailing sirens.
According to AFP correspondents, the crowd cheered and some waved flares as fireworks crackled in the sky over the seaside capital.
Adam Najah, a 27-year-old waiter from Meknes said: “I’m so proud of our team. Who knows—maybe next time they could win the cup.”
Najah said He said he travelled over 150 kilometres (90 miles) to “experience this historic day” and “celebrate the beautiful story of Morocco at the World Cup”.
Many supporters, who donned the team’s kits and waved red flags, had waited several hours to see their players.
As the bus passed through Central Rabat, 54-year-old Abdeljabbar Bouroua said: “I can’t describe my joy! They made us Moroccans, Arabs and Africans proud.”
Morocco were leaders of a group that included Croatia and Belgium before knocking out Spain and Portugal to reach the semi-final where they lost to France.
Though they lost the third place play-off 2-1 against 2018 runners-up Croatia, they captured the imagination in Qatar.
Leila Messour, a 19-year-old law student who came to watch the team with her friends, said: “I would have liked to take them in my arms and kiss them. They passed by quickly but we saw them—I haven’t been so happy for a long time.”
Later, the team headed to the royal palace, where they were hosted by King Mohammed VI “in recognition of the historic achievement”.
The King and Crown Prince, Moulay Hassan, gave awards to the president of the Moroccan football federation, the team coach, and the players.
The players’ mothers also accompanied them to the palace, MAP added, saying it was in recognition of their efforts to “instill in their children the values of patriotism, sacrifice and national belonging”.
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