OGC Nice player Sofiane Diop, in an interview with RFI, looks back on his choice to represent Morocco rather than Senegal, a difficult decision, and on the fierce competition within the Atlas Lions.
In an interview with RFI, relayed by Lesiteinfo, the OGC Nice player looks back on his decision to represent Morocco rather than Senegal. Born in France to a Senegalese father and a Moroccan mother, he had, according to Al Mountakhab, the option of choosing between three countries.
“It was a very difficult choice, but that takes nothing away from my love for Senegal, I am Senegalese, and that was never in doubt in my mind, but a decision had to be made about the national team, and I chose Morocco,” he tells RFI, in comments relayed by Lesiteinfo.
A decision taken three years ago
According to Al Mountakhab, Sofiane Diop made that choice three years ago, even before his debut with the Atlas Lions. He explains to RFI that he wanted to discover Moroccan culture more deeply and get closer to his roots, a motivation highlighted by Lesiteinfo.
His first call-up with Morocco came in March 2024, under Walid Regragui, according to Lesiteinfo. Yet his origins gave him the possibility of representing one of the three countries, Al Mountakhab recalls.
Fierce competition, club form the only way in
Diop does not hide the difficulty of the Moroccan challenge. According to Al Mountakhab, he stresses that competition within the national team is very strong and that performing at club level remains the key to being called up. “My goal is to maintain a high level of performance consistently; what I do at club level is very important. There is very strong competition within the ‘Atlas Lions’, and there is no other way to get into the national team than to shine with your club,” he says, according to Al Mountakhab.
On the pitch, Diop provided an assist for Mohamed Amoura in Nice’s 5-2 win over Rennes on 30 October, according to Goalson. He was substituted in the 68th minute of that match. Ligue1.com counts 2 assists from him in Ligue 1 this season.
What lies ahead for Nice and Morocco
With OGC Nice, the player is due to play a Ligue 1 match soon. With Morocco, the next squad to face Niger on 13 and 17 November is awaited. If Diop wants to be in it, he will first have to convince through his club performances, as he repeats to RFI and Al Mountakhab. The player’s age differs depending on the source: 25 for Lesiteinfo, 26 for Al Mountakhab.