Morocco’s football federation (FRMF) announced on Thursday that the FIFA court has approved Osame Sahraoui’s change of sports nationality from Norwegian to Moroccan, allowing him to represent Morocco’s national teams.
— FRMF (@FRMFOFFICIEL) September 26, 2024
Sahraoui announced nearly a month ago that he had decided to play for Morocco instead of Norway, choosing to represent Morocco’s national team. The Norwegian Football Federation confirmed the decision.
Norwegian head coach Ståle Solbakken said that Sahraoui had contacted him to share his decision to represent Morocco.
“It’s not a club decision, but a life choice. I know this has been difficult for Osame. It has been a great pleasure having him with us, and we wish him much success in the future,” Solbakken stated.
In response, Sahraoui expressed gratitude to the Norwegian Football Federation and to Solbakken for the years he spent with the Norwegian national team.
“The past few days have been difficult, but after long discussions with my agent and family, we made the final decision to play for Morocco,” Sahraoui said.
The 23-year-old winger and attacking midfielder recently joined Lille from Dutch club Heerenveen during the summer transfer window. Although he previously appeared in an international match for Norway, Sahraoui declined the recent call-up from Solbakken for upcoming matches against Kazakhstan and Austria.
In August 2023, Sahraoui was called up for the first time to represent the Norwegian senior national team in a friendly match against Jordan, but he did not participate due to an injury.