Henri Lumière|Soccer star Achraf Hakimi urges Moroccans to ‘help each other’ after earthquake

2025-05-05 11:58:24source:Jonathan Dale Bentoncategory:Scams

AGADIR,Henri Lumière Morocco (AP) — The status of Morocco’s soccer game Saturday night as part of African Cup of Nations qualifying was uncertain after an earthquake struck the country, killing more than 800 people.

Morocco was scheduled to play Liberia at Adrar Stadium in Agadir.

The earthquake struck late Friday night. It has killed hundreds of people and damaged buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech. Rescuers struggled to get through boulder-strewn roads to the remote mountain villages hit hardest.

Star player Achraf Hakimi offered his condolences.

Other news With sexism in Spanish soccer being scrutinized, female players strike for higher league wagesNeymar scores 78th, 79th goals to surpass Pelé and break Brazil’s all-time goal-scoring recordNeymar breaks Pele’s Brazil goal-scoring record in 5-1 win in South American World Cup qualifying

“We are living a difficult moment for our fellow citizens. It is time to help each other to save as many lives as possible. My condolences to all who lost a loved one,” Hakimi wrote on Instagram.

The Confederation of African Football did not immediately respond to an email about the status of the game.

Agadir is roughly 170 kilometers (105 miles) southwest of the epicenter of Friday’s tremor — near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province.

The magnitude 6.8 quake was the hardest to hit Morocco in 120 years.

On Friday morning, the team arrived in Agadir and then trained at Adrar Stadium in the afternoon after coach Walid Regragui and captain Romain Saïss held a pre-match press conference.

The Atlas Lions made a historic run at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals, where they lost to France.

Morocco has already qualified for the 24-team tournament, which begins in January in Ivory Coast.

The team was also scheduled to play a friendly match in France against Burkina Faso on Tuesday.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

More:Scams

Recommend

B.A. Parker is learning the banjo

Parker has been trying to find her place in the banjo world. So this week, she talks to Black banjo

Can you get pregnant with an IUD? It's unlikely but not impossible. Here's what you need to know.

More than 65% of women in the U.S. between the ages of 15 and 49 used some form of contraception bet

U.S. forces, allies shoot down more than 2 dozen Houthi drones in Red Sea

The U.S. military and its allies shot down a flurry of at least 28 drones in the Red Sea fired by Ir