Morocco-El Salvador Friendly Canceled Due to Player Availability and FIFA Rules

The highly anticipated friendly match between the Moroccan national football team, the Atlas Lions, and El Salvador, slated for June 3rd in Maryland, USA, has been officially called off. Yamil Bukele, the president of the Salvadoran Football Federation, announced that his organization received official correspondence from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) stating their inability to proceed with the fixture as originally planned.

The core issue, as explained by Bukele, revolves around player availability. The FRMF indicated that not all of their international stars would be available by the required date of May 29th, owing to their pressing commitments with their respective European clubs. This logistical challenge ultimately made it impossible for Morocco to field the squad necessary for the match under the agreed terms.

“

The Moroccan side informed their Salvadoran counterpart of the unavailability of all their international players starting May 29, due to their commitments with their clubs, which prevented the match from being played as planned.

In an effort to salvage the encounter, the FRMF proposed an alternative: hosting the match on June 2nd in Morocco, with the federation covering all travel and accommodation expenses for the Salvadoran team. While El Salvador welcomed the gesture, accepting the offer proved unfeasible. Bukele cited FIFA regulations that prohibit teams from playing on different continents within the same international break, as well as El Salvador's own pre-arranged schedule of two other friendly matches during the same period. Consequently, both federations have mutually agreed to the cancellation, acknowledging the insurmountable organizational hurdles.

“

The Salvadoran team will not be able to travel to Morocco, as FIFA regulations prevent playing matches on different continents during the same international break, in addition to the Salvadoran team's commitment to a prior schedule that includes two friendly matches in the mentioned period.