The Algerian Gymnastics Federation has withdrawn from participating in the African Championships in Morocco due to the lack of approval of the Ministry of Youth and Sports to carry out the mission.
The federation submitted an official letter to the Confederation of African Gymnastics announcing the decision to withdraw, which means that the Algerian team will miss the qualifying tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Media sources indicated that the real reason for the withdrawal was due to a dispute over the use of the map of the Kingdom of Morocco, which includes the disputed Western Sahara, on the shirts of the Moroccan national team.
The series of withdrawals began after the shirt crisis witnessed in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals after the Algerian authorities detained the shirts of Nahdet Berkane, which resulted in the decision of the “CAF” to lose the Algerian team to the match 3-0, pending the imposition of further disciplinary sanctions on the Algerian team as well as the local football federation.
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