08-07-2025
Algerian broadcaster erases Morocco's identity from Women's Africa Cup coverage
In a move that underscores a systematic determination to erase all references to Morocco, Algerian public television deliberately concealed the logo of Royal Air Maroc (RAM), the Moroccan national carrier and one of the official sponsors of the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations, currently taking place in Morocco from July 5 to 21. The incident occurred during the broadcast of a press conference held on Sunday by coach Farid Benstiti.
The airline's logo, prominently featured on the official CAF-approved backdrop, was removed from the footage, in clear violation of the tournament's visual identity. This manipulation was exposed after other unaltered clips surfaced, including one posted by La Gazette du Fennec, showing the full sponsor backdrop, confirming the removal was intentional and prompting a wave of ridicule on social media.
This incident is not an isolated case but part of a broader pattern in Algerian public media, which routinely erases or ignores any mention of Morocco, whether by omitting coverage of the national team's achievements or avoiding references to Morocco's name or imagery, even in major continental and international events.
It is important to note that official sponsors of continental tournaments are legally protected through agreements signed with CAF, which require all media outlets to respect the tournament's visual identity, including sponsor logos. From this perspective, the removal of Royal Air Maroc's logo constitutes a clear breach that could subject Algerian television to legal or regulatory consequences.
The efforts to erase Morocco's presence did not stop there: images originally published on the official account of the Algerian women's national team and later shared by the Algerian Football Federation also showed the words «Morocco 2024» erased from the official tournament logo, in yet another move that blatantly denies recognition of the host country.
