London’s Little Morocco is brimming with pride and anticipation. The Moroccan diaspora in North Kensington is in no doubt that on Sunday the Atlas Lions will triumph against Senegal in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
“There’s not just an excitement, it has completely taken over everything else,” said Souad Talsi, who runs the Al-Hasaniya Moroccan women’s centre at the base of 31-storey Trellick Tower, at the north end of Golborne Road.
She added: “There is so much gloom and doom around at the moment and people are depressed about Gaza, but football has given us a respite from all that. It has completely united the Moroccan diaspora and given us a purpose and a sense of belonging.”
Mohamed Chelh said that if Morocco prevail it will be first time they have lifted the Afcon trophy since 1976, a tournament he cannot even remember.
Sipping mint tea in the Trellick Lounge cafe after Friday prayers, he said: “They should win. They’ve got the best team.” He points to Morocco’s success in the last World Cup when they reached the semi-finals and beat Spain and Portugal on the way.
Chelh, who works in a bakery, plans to head to Trafalgar Square to celebrate Morocco’s anticipated victory.
On a big screen at the back of the cafe, the Trellick Lounge has shown all of Morocco’s games in the tournament so far. On Friday, more than 48 hours before Sunday’s game, it was already showing a buildup programme on the satellite channel Maghreb TV. On Sunday there will also be a screen on the street outside the cafe.
Ali Mssr, who runs the cafe, predicts that hundreds will turn up to the watch the final. “Outside there will be even more,” he said.
Mohamed, a retired gardener, said he could hear the celebrations in the cafe from his flat down the street when Morocco scraped through on penalties against Nigeria in the semi-final.
“It was a beautiful atmosphere. They were really happy. And I’m very proud. I love Morocco, my mum and dad are there. And I love it when they play well and win.”
Further down Golborne Road, at Hakim’s cafe, Yassim, a courier, said: “The mood is very good. I have confidence we will win. We beat Nigeria and they are the toughest team in the tournament. We will win whether it is 90 minutes or 120 minutes.”
Talsi is planning to watch the game with her extended family, including her 85-year-old-mother, her brothers and their children, after a meal of couscous.
She said: “Football reminds us that people are not always bad and people can come together and forget their differences. Whether you are an international trader or a cleaner, all they want is for Morocco to win.
“It has also broken the gender barrier. At the semi-final there was an outdoor screen and there were as many loud girls as there were loud boys.”
Lailah Khallouk, a senior outreach worker at the women’s centre, said: “I hate football but I love to watch the Moroccan team. There’s huge excitement and a lot of organising about where to watch the game –in cafes or social clubs or house parties.
“My son Adam, who is 11, is passionate about it, he’s like a professional fan.
“It’s something that brings us all together. Despite where we were born, our ages, our social classes, is a just a great event. Finally we have something to be proud of.”
Mohamed Rhiam, an Uber driver, has just got back from a visit to relatives in Casablanca. “The atmosphere was crazy. There will be great disappointment if they lose, because everyone is into it now. But we’ll win.”
Rhiam witnessed protests before the tournament on the amount of money spent on stadiums rather than public services. “I share those concerns. I believe the money they spent on it they could have done more for the economy. But the football still makes me proud.”
Asked if an Afcon win would make up for the disappointment of the last World Cup, Rhiam said: “It wasn’t a disappointment, we got to the semi-final.”