Many viewers of the 2026 FIFA World Cup have wondered why some broadcasters choose to abbreviate Morocco to MAR during the African nation’s matches at the tournament.
Considering the letter A does not appear in the word Morocco, thousands of football fans have been left puzzled at the sight of MAR popping up at the top of their television screens.
So, why are Morocco known as MAR? It all started back in the 1880s after France expanded their colonial empire into North Africa.
Morocco opted to keep Maroc despite 1956 declaration of independence
In French, Morocco is known as Maroc.
French remains an influential language in Morocco ever since the nation was colonised by France in the 1880s – despite Morocco declaring their independence in 1956.
Given how dominant the French language is in Morocco, the North African nation continue to refer to themselves as MAR when it comes to abbreviating their name for sporting events and other matters.
Switzerland also use French to abbreviate themselves
Some readers may have also noticed that Switzerland are down as SUI – despite the letter U not appearing in the name of the country.
That is because the French for Switzerland is Suisse.
French is one of four official languages in Switzerland, along with Italian, German and Romansh.
Considering both FIFA and Switzerland use French as their main language, SUI is therefore used in the Swiss Football Federation’s documents and also at FIFA competitions.
The Swiss Olympic team are also abbreviated as SUI.
