Adidas drawn into historic spat between Morocco and Algeria over new jersey design
Moroccans have swiftly taken to social media to accuse Adidas of cultural appropriation over their newly designed pre-match Algerian soccer jersey.
The culture collection training kit for the Algerian national soccer team's upcoming season includes a multicolour shirt in a geometric design.
The German sportswear brand said they drew inspiration from the historic El Mechouar Palace in Tlemcen in north-western Algeria, and based the design on the zellige tiling that wraps around the palace's interior.
While many Algerians are excited about the kit launching later this month, the response from many neighbouring Moroccans on social media has been critical.
Lawyer Mourad Eljouati has even issued a legal warning to Adidas on behalf of Morocco's Ministry of Culture, demanding that they remove the kit in two weeks.
Mr Eljouati said in a Facebook post that it was "an attempt to steal a form of Moroccan cultural heritage and use it outside its context"
Is it really about the jersey?
The question now is did Adidas culturally appropriate this training kit?
The short answer is no.
The El Mechouar Palace was built in Tlemcen in Algeria in the 13th Century at the beginning of the Zayyanid dynasty.
In the western Islamic world – also known as the Maghreb, which refers to countries in north-west Africa — zellige tiling is the most traditional form of architecture.
The earliest zellige fragments were found in Tunisia around the 11th Century. It then made its way further west to the Iberian Peninsula and shaped the architectural style in Spain under the Andalusian Empire.
It became a generalised style throughout the entire Maghreb region by the 14th Century.
This means that Morocco and Algeria have a shared history and identity that dates back hundreds of years before the countries, and the tiling, even existed.
So if it's not about architecture, where is the animosity coming from?
Post-colonial tensions live on
Things took a turn for the worse in December 2020 when Morocco became the fourth Arab League country to normalise ties with Israel.
The Trump administration brokered the deal, and Morocco agreed to it under the condition that the United States wouldn't recognise the Western Sahara as an independent state.
In response, Algeria doubled down on its support for the Palestinian political establishment and its people.
And while both Moroccan and Algerian people were able to separate politics and government actions and remain friendly, this latest turn soured relationships on all levels.
Today, it's not uncommon to see young people on both sides of the Algeria-Morocco border arguing with each other, with the same tone reflected on social media.
The hard border is its own source of heartbreak, with many families separated as it split towns right down the middle.