Moroccan footballers stranded in Guinea in attempted coup

The Moroccan national football team was “safe” in the Guinean capital Conakry on Sunday, a Moroccan official said after army coup plotters said they staged a coup in the South African country. ‘Where is.

Scheduled to face Guinea on Monday in a qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup, the Moroccans “are safe and currently in a hotel away from tensions,” Mohamed Makrouf of the Royal Moroccan Federation told AFP. football (FRMF).

The federation “is working to evacuate the team today. There is already a plane at the airport,” he added.

In a statement, world football body Fifa said the match would be postponed “to ensure the safety and security of all players and to protect all match officials.”

Heavy gunfire was heard on Sunday in central Conakry, as the coup plotters claimed to have arrested President Alpha Condé, transmitting to AFP a video showing the head of state surrounded by soldiers.

But the government said in a statement it had “repelled” an attack on the presidential palace.

Guinea – one of the poorest countries in the world despite significant mineral resources – has long been plagued by political instability.