The Moroccan football federation stated on Tuesday that Morocco is no longer actively seeking to convince Barcelona's Lamine Yamal to play for them. They acknowledge and respect his decision to represent Spain. Despite having a Moroccan father, Yamal was born and raised in Spain, and he has recently become an integral part of Barcelona's forward line. He also made his senior debut for Spain last month.
According to a report in the Spanish newspaper AS on Tuesday, Morocco, one of the hosts for the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, is making efforts to persuade Yamal to change his international allegiance.
The report indicated that Yamal had previously turned down a financial offer to play for Morocco.
“The Royal Moroccan Federation confirms that what was stated in this article is false and not based on any evidence, as we have respected the choices of the player Lamine Yamal, like other players of Moroccan origin who chose other teams,” the Moroccan federation said in a statement.
According to FIFA regulations, players can change their international allegiance provided they have made fewer than three appearances for a country before turning 21 and have not represented that nation for at least three years.
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Yamal must participate in one more game for Spain before he becomes ineligible to switch to Morocco.
The Spanish winger achieved the distinction of becoming LaLiga's youngest goalscorer at the age of 16 years and 87 days when he scored for Barcelona against Granada last Sunday.
In August, Yamal set a new record as Barca’s youngest debutant in an official match. He then went on to become Spain’s youngest-ever international and scorer at the age of 16 years and 57 days when he made his debut away to Georgia in a Euro 2024 qualifier in September.
During the match against Granada, he managed to score in the first-half stoppage time while LaLiga champions Barcelona were trailing 2-0. The game ultimately concluded in a 2-2 draw.
Yamal surpassed the previous record holder, Malaga’s Fabrice Olinga, who scored against Celta Vigo in 2012 at the age of 16 years and 98 days.
While Yamal has participated in two matches with Spain, he was sidelined from the squad preparing to face Scotland and Norway in the Euro 2024 qualifiers this month due to an inju
