Exploring National Identity in World Sports: A Thematic Analysis of Media Portrayals of Morocco’s National Team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup

This paper examines the mediated construction of Moroccan sporting identity in the English-language Western press, focusing on the media coverage of the Moroccan football squad during the FIFA 2022 World Cup. The team’s remarkable success captured significant global attention, prompting an exploration of how the media represented their national and cultural identity. Employing a constructive lens and thematic analysis, the study analysed a timely corpus of 32 feature articles from major outlets. An A.I. tool was utilised to verify the consistency and reliability of themes derived from traditional thematic analysis. The alignment of themes from both approaches enhances the study’s credibility, validating narratives constructed around the Moroccan national team. The findings reveal a nuanced portrayal of Moroccan national identity shaped by language, religion and familial ties while also highlighting the influence of politics and history. Notably, while the Moroccan national team fosters unity among fans through shared cultural, linguistic, and regional ties, underlying domestic conflicts related to national language and ethnicity persist. This research contributes to the literature on media, sport and national identity, underscoring the complex interplay of these elements within the context of global sporting events.