{"id":998,"date":"2026-10-02T15:45:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T12:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lions12.org\/?p=998"},"modified":"2026-10-02T15:56:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T12:56:29","slug":"morocco-secures-mali-for-tangier-friendly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lions12.org\/?p=998","title":{"rendered":"Breaking News: Morocco Secures Mali for Tangier Friendly as Botola Pro Matchday 2 Referees Are Announced Botola"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Botola Pro<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Published:<\/strong> October 2, 2026<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Author:<\/strong> Moroccan Football Insider<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction<sup><\/sup> Botola<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Welcome to your midday roundup of Moroccan football! From international adjustments to domestic league preparations, the landscape of Moroccan football is as vibrant as ever. In this post, we cover the latest updates emerging from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), including a high-profile change to the national team&#8217;s upcoming friendly schedule, crucial updates on the domestic <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/frmf.ma\/fr\/botola-pro\/d1\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/frmf.ma\/fr\/botola-pro\/d1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Botola Pro Inwi<\/a><\/strong>, and continental preparations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Atlas Lions Shift Focus: Mali Replaces Ghana for Tangier Friendly<sup><\/sup> Botola<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following a stellar start to their <strong>Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers<\/strong> <strong>2027 <\/strong>\u2014which saw Morocco secure back-to-back 2-0 victories against Gabon (in Rabat) and Lesotho (in Bloemfontein)\u2014the national team is gearing up for their next test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/frmf.ma\/fr\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/frmf.ma\/fr\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF)<\/a><\/strong> officially confirmed that <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/fr.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%C3%89quipe_du_Mali_de_football\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/fr.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%C3%89quipe_du_Mali_de_football\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mali<\/a><\/strong> will step in to face Morocco in an international friendly match. The fixture is set to take place at the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/Grand+Stade+de+Tanger\/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd0b87a7b9e9b7e5:0xad9add5f6dc2c4c8?sa=X&amp;ved=1t:242&amp;ictx=111\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/Grand+Stade+de+Tanger\/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd0b87a7b9e9b7e5:0xad9add5f6dc2c4c8?sa=X&amp;ved=1t:242&amp;ictx=111\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Grand Stade de Tanger<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><strong>The Background:<\/strong> The match was originally scheduled against Ghana. However, the Ghanaian federation reached out via official correspondence to withdraw from the fixture due to internal reasons. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Significance:<\/strong> Following their historic run to the quarterfinals of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifa.com\/fr\/tournaments\/mens\/worldcup\/canadamexicousa2026\/scores-fixtures\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.fifa.com\/fr\/tournaments\/mens\/worldcup\/canadamexicousa2026\/scores-fixtures\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FIFA World Cup 2026 <\/a><\/strong> and their climb to a record <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifa.com\/en\/tournaments\/mens\/worldcup\/2030\/articles\/morocco-milestone-fifa-ranking\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">5th place in the FIFA World Rankings<\/a><\/strong>, Walid Regragui&#8217;s side continues to fine-tune their squad depth ahead of competitive continental action. niya.maroc.ma<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Botola Pro Inwi Matchday 2 Heats Up <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Domestically, excitement is reaching a fever pitch following an electrifying opening weekend in the <strong>Botola Pro Inwi<\/strong>, which witnessed an astounding 27 goals scored across seven matches.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Referee Designations:<\/strong> The FRMF has officially released the referee pairings and official designations for <strong>Matchday 2<\/strong> across Botola Pro 1 and 2. Clubs are locking in their final tactical adjustments as they prepare for another round of high-stakes domestic clashes. Botola<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Early Standings Buzz:<\/strong> Defending champions and early pacesetters are looking to build momentum, while newly promoted sides aim to cement their footprint in the top flight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Futsal Atlas Lions Ready for African Defense<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other national team news, head coach <strong>Hicham Dguig<\/strong> has officially announced his 14-player squad for the upcoming <strong>Futsal Africa Cup of Nations<\/strong> <strong>2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">As reigning three-time African champions, Morocco will host the continental tournament from <strong>October 12 to October 21, 2026<\/strong>. Morocco World News<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Placed alongside Algeria, Zambia, and Libya in the group stages, the squad aims to capture a fourth consecutive continental crown on home soil.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the upcoming clash at the Grand Stade de Tanger to the intense domestic drama unfolding in the Botola Pro, Moroccan football continues to command the spotlight on both regional and global stages. Stay tuned to our blog for live updates, post-match analysis, and exclusive reactions as the weekend approaches!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure  class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img width=\"1216\" height=\"684\" alt=\"The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) officially confirmed that Mali\"  class=\"wp-image-999 size-full\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lions12.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DQIXJQL4WZEBXBXPVIKI7EHA7M.avif\"><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Morocco (Atlas Lions) vs Mali (Eagles)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Date: Sunday, October 4, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Time: 6:00 PM (GMT)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Location : Grand Stade de Tanger (Tanger, Maroc)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Context: Friendly preparation match (replaces the scheduled match against Ghana, subsequently cancelled; Mali also cancelled a match against Tunisia).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Ticketing: Tickets originally purchased remain valid or are available on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.webook.com\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"www.webook.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">www.webook.com<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Botola Pro Published: October 2, 2026 Author: Moroccan Football Insider Introduction Botola Welcome to your midday roundup of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_thinkrank_schema_form_data":"","_thinkrank_selected_schema_type":"","_thinkrank_additional_schemas":"","_thinkrank_canonical_url":"","_thinkrank_og_title":"","_thinkrank_og_description":"","_thinkrank_og_image":"","_thinkrank_twitter_title":"","_thinkrank_twitter_description":"","_thinkrank_twitter_image":"","_thinkrank_imported_from":"","_thinkrank_focus_keywords":[],"_thinkrank_focus_keyword":"","_thinkrank_robots_meta_enabled":0,"_thinkrank_robots_meta":"","_thinkrank_advanced_robots_meta":"","_thinkrank_exclude_from_search":0,"_thinkrank_exclude_from_archives":0,"_thinkrank_primary_category":0,"_xspeed_no_cache":false,"_xspeed_expiry_hours":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lastest-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/lions12.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DQIXJQL4WZEBXBXPVIKI7EHA7M.avif",1216,684,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/lions12.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DQIXJQL4WZEBXBXPVIKI7EHA7M.avif",150,84,false],"medium":["https:\/\/lions12.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DQIXJQL4WZEBXBXPVIKI7EHA7M.avif",300,169,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/lions12.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DQIXJQL4WZEBXBXPVIKI7EHA7M.avif",640,360,false],"large":["https:\/\/lions12.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DQIXJQL4WZEBXBXPVIKI7EHA7M.avif",640,360,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/lions12.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DQIXJQL4WZEBXBXPVIKI7EHA7M.avif",1216,684,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/lions12.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DQIXJQL4WZEBXBXPVIKI7EHA7M.avif",1216,684,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/lions12.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DQIXJQL4WZEBXBXPVIKI7EHA7M.avif",825,464,false],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/lions12.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DQIXJQL4WZEBXBXPVIKI7EHA7M.avif",590,332,false]},"author_info":{"info":["The12lions"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/lions12.org\/?cat=1\" rel=\"category\">lastest News<\/a>","tag_info":"lastest 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