PATERSON, N.J. (WABC) – A party was held in Paterson, New Jersey on Wednesday to support the Moroccan team in the World Cup semi-finals.
Mayor Andre Sayegh, Councilor Al Abdelaziz and the Moroccan Organization organized a viewing of the match at the Abu Rass restaurant on Main Street.
Paterson is home to the largest Arab-American population in the state, so many in the area were looking forward to rooting for Morocco.
In fact, nearly 20% of all Moroccans living in the US live in New York and New Jersey.
While they may have been disappointed by Morocco’s loss to France, they were proud to have made it this far.
This semi-final match of the World Cup was special. Morocco made history by becoming the first African and first Arab nation to reach this point in the tournament.
Not only was the Moroccan team up against legendary French forward Kylian Mbappe, but France are also world champions.
Wednesday’s match had cultural and political undertones – Morocco was ruled by France from 1912 to 1956 – and the outcome was far from what many might have assumed from the players’ names and team rankings.
Morocco exceeded all expectations in Qatar, beating second-placed Belgium in the group stage and then eliminating European powerhouses Spain and Portugal in the knockout phase to reach the semi-finals.
It was one of the biggest stories in the 92-year history of the World Cup.
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