African nation furious over ‘cultural appropriation’ in football jerseys

Morocco has demanded that the design of the new Algerian national team shirt be changed

Morocco’s culture ministry has accused sportswear giant Adidas of appropriating its national culture on new shirts for Algeria’s football team.

Adidas has claimed that the design was inspired by Algeria’s Mechouar Palace. But the blue, teal, and yellow design is a Moroccan pattern called zellige and is commonly found in local Moroccan mosaics, according to the ministry’s lawyer, Mourad Elajouti.

As part of a Facebook post, Elajouti said that he had issued a legal warning to German company Adidas on behalf of the ministry.

In his letter to Adidas chief executive Kasper Rorsted, Elajouti demanded that the company remove the design within two weeks as it is “cultural appropriation” and “an attempt to steal a form of Moroccan cultural heritage and use it outside its context.”