Bir-Lahlou (Sahrawi Republic), 1 January 2020 (SPS) - Minister of Youth and Sports, Moussa Salma, in a statement to the Sahara News Agency (SPS), expressed his appreciation for the honorable stance adopted by the South African and Mauritius Football Federations that withdrew from the 2020 Africa Futsal Cup of Nations held in the occupied capital of Western Sahara, El-Aaiun.
In his statement, the Minister of Youth and Sports affirmed that "We appreciate the courageous and noble stances of the African football federations that refused to be a reason for deepening the suffering of the Sahrawi people and perpetuating the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara," said the Minister of Youth and Sports.
In this context, he praised "the historic decisions taken by the football federations of South Africa and Mauritius to withdraw from this football scandal, despite the great pressures exerted by the Moroccan occupation regime and the officials the Confederation of African Football, who are embroiled with it, especially against Mauritius."
The Minister of Youth and Sports called on the football federations of Angola and Mozambique to follow in the same direction and to take a clear and consistent stance with the positions of their respective countries in support of the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination and independence.
Finally, he emphasized that the irresponsible and criminal exploitation by Morocco of sport to pass its colonial agenda in Western Sahara undermines the chances of peace, considering that African sport can only be an actual partner in making peace in the continent, not as a weapon to support the occupying power, oppression, and flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law. (SPS)
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