RABAT: Morocco鈥檚 national football team was 鈥渟afe鈥� Sunday in Guinean capital Conakry, a Moroccan official said, after army putschists said they had staged a coup in the west African country.
Scheduled to face Guinea in a Monday qualifier for the 2022 World Cup, the Moroccans 鈥渁re safe and currently in a hotel some way away from where things are tense,鈥� Mohamed Makrouf of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) told AFP.
The federation 鈥渋s working on evacuating the team today. There鈥檚 already a plane at the airport,鈥� he added.
Heavy gunfire was heard in central Conakry on Sunday, as the putschists claimed they had arrested President Alpha Conde, sending AFP a video showing the head of state surrounded by soldiers.
But the government said in a statement of its own that it had 鈥渞epulsed鈥� an attack on the presidential palace.
Guinea 鈥� one of the world鈥檚 poorest countries despite boasting significant mineral resources 鈥� has long been beset by political instability.