Morocco Facts:
It has taken the Atlas Lions 36 years to achieve this remarkable feat of entering the last eight of a World Cup competition.
The Atlas Lions will face 1966 semi-finalists Portugal in the third quarter-final match today, Saturday from 6pm (local time) at Al Thumama Stadium, situated 12km from Doha city centre.
One man can be credited with this meteoric rise of the Atlas Lions, Walid Regragui, who was appointed coach in August, three months to the start of the World Cup and under shaky circumstances.
Doha, Qatar 2022
Morocco were the first African team to qualify for the round of 16 at the World Cup, in Mexico 1986.
After that, they could only sit back and watch as Cameroon went a step farther four years later, reaching a historic quarter-final, before Senegal (France 1998) and Ghana (South Africa 2010) followed suit.
It has taken the Atlas Lions 36 years to achieve this remarkable feat of entering the last eight of a World Cup competition.
They did it with grit and guile at the Education City Stadium four days ago, holding fancied Spain to a barren draw in 120 minutes of play before dispatching the 2010 champions 3-0 in the ensuing penalty shoot-out.
The Atlas Lions will face 1966 semi-finalists Portugal in the third quarter-final match Saturday from 6pm (local and Kenyan time) at Al Thumama Stadium, situated 12km from Doha city centre.
One man can be credited with this meteoric rise of the Atlas Lions, Walid Regragui, who was appointed coach in August, three months to the start of the World Cup and under shaky circumstances.
The France-born Regragui replaced Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic who had controversially kept out of the squad two star players, Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazraoui of Bayern Munich, over what he called disciplinary issues.
Regragui, who was the Morocco assistant coach in 2012-2013, promptly returned the duo to the Atlas Lions’ den, but there were still question marks over a Lions team that could not even get past the quarter-finals of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
His riposte came in their very first match of the world tournament on November 23 against Croatia in a tough Group ‘F’ that also contained Belgium and Canada.
He was received with loud clapping and cheering from the impressed Moroccan media here in Doha during the post-match interview after the Atlas Lions held the 2018 World Cup finalists to a barren draw.
When Morocco stunned Belgium, the second highest ranked team in the world by Fifa, 2-0 in their second group match on November 27 there was near pandemonium at the Al Thumama Stadium as the pressmen from Morocco widely cheered the Paris-born, 47-year-old Regragui as he stepped into the conference room for the post-match rituals.
His post-match press conference after defeating fancied Spain 3-0 on penalties in their intriguing round of 16 was delayed by minutes, but the normally impatient scribes from Morocco did not mind one bit, applauding loudly, not unlike a cheer squad, as he emerged for the interview.
“You have made the Moroccan people proud. You have brought honour to your king with this victory,” one of the journalists, almost in tears, said during the press conference.
Regragui, a former international, who played for Toulouse and AC Ajaccio, a club Kenya’s Dennis Oliech once featured for, had made this promise to Moroccans on his appointment day: “We want to do great things.”
On Friday he said: “No one expected to see us in the last 16 and the quarter-finals, but we are here. We are playing one of the best teams in the world that wants to win the World Cup. They are favourites, we are the underdogs, just like we were against Denmark, and Spain. We will try to pull off a surprise. We will do everything to try to win this game.”
Lose or win, the Atlas Lions have already written their history here in Qatar to add to the African and Arab football story.
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Air Tanzania Banned From EU Airspace Due to Safety Concerns
Several airports have since locked Air Tanzania, dealing a severe blow to the Tanzanian national carrier that must now work overtime to regain its certification or go the wet lease way
The European Commission has announced the inclusion of Air Tanzania on the EU Air Safety List, effectively banning the airline from operating in European airspace.
The decision, made public on December 16, 2024, is based on safety concerns identified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which also led to the denial of Air Tanzania’s application for a Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation.
The Commission did not go into the specifics of the safety infringement but industry experts suggest it is possible that the airline could have flown its Airbus A220 well past its scheduled major checks, thus violating the airworthiness directives.
“The decision to include Air Tanzania in the EU Air Safety List underscores our unwavering commitment to ensuring the highest safety standards for passengers in Europe and worldwide,” said Apostolos Tzitzikostas, EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism.
“We strongly urge Air Tanzania to take swift and decisive action to address these safety issues. I have offered the Commission’s assistance to the Tanzanian authorities in enhancing Air Tanzania’s safety performance and achieving full compliance with international aviation standards.”
Air Tanzania has a mixed fleet of modern aircraft types including Boeing 787s, 737 Max jets, and Airbus A220s.
It has been flying the B787 Dreamliner to European destinations like Frankfurt in Germany and Athens in Greece and was looking to add London to its growing list with the A220.
But the ban not only scuppers the London dream but also has seen immediate ripple effect, with several airports – including regional like Kigali and continental – locking out Air Tanzania.
Tanzania operates KLM alongside the national carrier.
The European Commission said Air Tanzania may be permitted to exercise traffic rights by using wet-leased aircraft of an air carrier which is not subject to an operating ban, provided that the relevant safety standards are complied with.
A wet lease is where an airline pays to use an aircraft with a crew, fuel, and insurance all provided by the leasing company at a fee.
Two more to the list
The EU Air Safety List, maintained to ensure passenger safety, is updated periodically based on recommendations from the EU Air Safety Committee.
The latest revision, which followed a meeting of aviation safety experts in Brussels from November 19 to 21, 2024, now includes 129 airlines.
Of these, 100 are certified in 15 states where aviation oversight is deemed insufficient, and 29 are individual airlines with significant safety deficiencies.
Alongside Air Tanzania, other banned carriers include Air Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), Avior Airlines (Venezuela), and Iran Aseman Airlines (Iran).
Commenting on the broader implications of the list, Tzitzikostas stated, “Our priority remains the safety of every traveler who relies on air transport. We urge all affected airlines to take these bans seriously and work collaboratively with international bodies to resolve the identified issues.”
In a positive development, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been cleared to resume operations in the EU following a four-year suspension. The ban, which began in 2020, was lifted after substantial improvements in safety performance and oversight by PIA and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA).
“Since the TCO Authorisation was suspended, PIA and PCAA have made remarkable progress in enhancing safety standards,” noted Tzitzikostas. “This demonstrates that safety issues can be resolved through determination and cooperation.”
Another Pakistani airline, Airblue Limited, has also received EASA’s TCO authorisation.
Decisions to include or exclude airlines from the EU Air Safety List are based on rigorous evaluations of international safety standards, particularly those established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
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The process involves thorough review and consultation among EU Member State aviation safety experts, with oversight from the European Commission and support from EASA.
“Where an airline currently on the list believes it complies with the required safety standards, it can request a reassessment,” explained Tzitzikostas. “Our goal is not to penalize but to ensure safety compliance globally.”
Airlines listed on the EU Air Safety List face significant challenges to their international operations, as the bans highlight shortcomings in safety oversight by their home regulatory authorities.
For Air Tanzania, this inclusion signals an urgent need for reform within Tanzania’s aviation sector to address these deficiencies and align with global standards.
The path forward will require immediate and sustained efforts to rectify safety concerns and regain access to one of the world’s most critical aviation markets.
Source: allafrica.com
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Tanzania air operators say over 600 workers are set to lose their jobs after the semi-autonomous government of Zanzibar awarded a Dubai-based company exclusive rights to handle ground services at a refurbished airport.
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