Algeria withdraws from African Gymnastics Championship in Morocco

Algeria will withdraw from the African Artistic Gymnastics Championship scheduled from April 30 to May 7 in Marrakech. The decision was announced by the president of the Algerian Gymnastics Federation in a message to his Moroccan counterpart.

«We regret to inform you that our teams will not be participating in the upcoming African Artistic Gymnastics Championship scheduled in Marrakech from April 30 to May 7, 2024», the message stated. The president explained that «the request submitted to the Ministry of Youth and Sports did not receive approval for this participation».

The African Championship in Marrakech is a qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The African Gymnastics Union chose Marrakech to host this championship in January. This withdrawal comes a week after Algerian authorities refused to allow the Renaissance Sportive de Berkane club to play the semi-final of the African Confederation Cup against the Algerian Union while wearing their jersey that displayed the full map of Morocco.

Also this week, the Algerian U-20 handball team withdrew from the Arab Championship being held in Rabat in response to the Moroccan players wearing jerseys featuring the full map of the kingdom.