After sustained gunfire was heard, members of the Guinea Armed Forces drove through Kaloum, Conakry's central neighborhood. Photo by CELLOU BINANI/AFP via Getty Images
Morocco's national team is set to evacuate Conakry, the Guinean capital. Their World Cup qualifier against Guinea was postponed due to a coup d’etat in West Africa.
ESPN was informed by a source close to the Morocco camp that the team is preparing to leave Guinea immediately. Source said that the Moroccan delegation is doing well and are waiting for evacuation.
Anas Zniti from Morocco, the goalkeeper, is currently with the team in Conakry. He has confirmed to ESPN that the team are doing well, despite the fact that they have seen the city's security situation deteriorate, with Sofyan Amrabat posting footage of military forces in the streets on his Instagram story.
The Morocco team was told to stay inside their home and avoid windows and doors for the moment.
The Confederation of African Football stated in a statement that "The current political, security and security situation in Guinea" is volatile.
"To ensure safety and security for all players, FIFA and CAF decided to postpone Guinea vs. Morocco in FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying match. This match was originally scheduled to take place in Conakry (Ghana) on Monday Sept. 6. Rescheduling information is available at a later time."
Members of the Guinean Police National pass through Kaloum, Conakry's central neighborhood. Photo by CELLOU BINANI/AFP via Getty Images
According to the BBC, Morocco trained in Guinea Saturday just before the coup d’etat occurred. Hours of gunfire were heard in Conakry (near the presidential palace) on Saturday.
Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic said to French newspaper L'Equipe that they were at the hotel and gunshots could be heard all day. We are still waiting on permission to fly to the airport, but for now we are stranded.
"A plane is waiting, but we aren't allowed to go. It takes 45 minutes to one hour to get to the airport. Safety is not guaranteed when you hear gunshots outside.
He said, "I was told that there was a possibility the game would take place in Morocco, but I'm not sure." We are stuck here, let's wait and see what happens. We will wait. "I hope that we can get back to Morocco before it is too late."
Although Guinea's defense minister stated that the coup de etat was unsuccessful, President Alpha Conde's fate remains unknown. ESPN has seen images that show bodies on the streets of the Guinean capital, which have been verified by ESPN.
ESPN received a statement from the "National Front for the Defence of the Constitution", a coalition of parties opposed to the current presidency, confirming that the president was taken into custody.
Residents of Kaloum were told to stay indoors. However, the military remain on the streets and have taken over the country's air and land borders.
Air Senegal, the airline that flew some of Guinea’s Europe-based players from Guinea to Conakry, decided to cancel Sunday's planned flights out of Guinea. This decision could raise concerns about Naby Keita, Liverpool's player based in Europe, being able to return to Europe.
Morocco flew to the country in a chartered aircraft, but it is not clear if they will be permitted to leave via the airport.
Four Cameroonian match officials, who were assigned to oversee Monday's fixture, are still in Cameroon. However, African football's governing body has yet to confirm their departure.
ESPN reached out to officials from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation for comment, but they declined to provide further information about the team's movements.
Some of the most prominent players in Morocco are Achraf Hakimi from Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica's Adel Taarabt. Wolves defender Romain Sassis, Yassine Bounou, Youssef EN-Nesyri, and Romain Saiss, both Sevilla duo Yassine Bonou.
This report includes information from Reuters.
