Morocco national team players donate blood to earthquake victims
By Jennifer S Kuwanta
Morocco’s national football team players took a break from practice on Sunday to donate blood to help victims of the country’s deadly earthquake.
A 6.8 magnitude quake that struck southwest of the Moroccan city Marrakech, had claimed the lives of at least 2,012 people.
The Interior Ministry said at least another 2,059 were injured, 1,404 of whom were in critical condition, as it was revealed that the quake was the strongest to hit the country in 120 years.
In light of the damage, the Atlas Lions of Morocco who were meant to play Liberia in a qualifying match for the African Cup of Nations, announced on Saturday that the game had been postponed with the agreement of the Confederation of African Football.
The video on the internet showed that instead of taking the extra time to practice, the footballers donated blood to earthquake victims, sharing the experience in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Several players including Cristiano Ronaldo also took to social media to give their condolences to the victims.
“It is time to help each other to save as many lives as possible,” Morocco star Achraf Hakimi wrote on Instagram. “My condolences to all who lost a loved one.”
Forward Walid Cheddira wrote: “My heart breaks for my country. Living in this moment is not easy for everyone. Our thoughts are with all the victims and injured. May Allah bless them.”
Condolences came from across the sport, with Cristiano Ronaldo sending his “love and prayers to all in Morocco at this very difficult time”.
Ronaldo’s post caught the attention of Chinese football fans on the country’s Twitter-like platform Weibo, with the footballer’s message becoming a trending topic on Sunday.
The Atlas Lions are scheduled to play a friendly match in France against Burkina Faso on Tuesday.
