Moroccan team coach confirms he will honor his contract till the end

The Portuguese coach of the Moroccan football team, Humberto Coelho, put an end Tuesday to speculations about his departure from Morocco, asserting that he turned out a Saudi offer to coach the Saudi team that has been qualified to the 2002 world football cup and that he would remain with the Atlas Lions to honor his contract.

Coelho told the Portuguese radio TSF that he had been contacted by Saudi Arabia and by another country, that he declined to name, but that he wants to honor his commitments with Morocco.

He said that he had no plans to leave Morocco for the time being and that although the Moroccan team failed to qualify to the World football cup, he still enjoys the trust of the Moroccan Royal Football federation (FRMF). He said he respects the contract binding him to the FRMF and intends to honor it till the end.

The Portuguese press had announced Monday that Coelho had been approached by the Saudi federation to coach the Saudi team.

FRMF secretary general Karim Alem immediately denied the news reports and said relations between the federation and the coach are good and are marked by understanding. The Saudi federation had also flatly denied as groundless the press reports.

The two-year contract between the FRMF and Coelho expires on October 30, 2002.