Key Points
- Several upcoming Women's World Cup matches feature former colonial powers playing against countries they colonised.
- In these games, France will face Morocco, South Africa will play the Netherlands and England will play Nigeria.
- The games have been labelled "coloniser derbies", "colonial derbies" or "decolonisation derbies".
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Round of 16 draw has been finalised, after several shock Group Stage results including wins by lower-ranked teams Morocco and South Africa.
World Cup debutants Morocco pulled off a stunning Group Stage win against Colombia on Thursday to set up a next-round match against France. South Africa will play the Netherlands.
Some internet users have pointed out that in these two matches, as well as the upcoming England v Nigeria game, former colonial powers will be pitted against countries they once colonised.
"Get in babe it's time to decolonise," one user wrote in a tweet with screenshots of the match start times.
Others were calling the matches "coloniser derbies", "colonial derbies" or "decolonisation derbies", while one user referred to the tournament as the "FIFA Reparations Cup."
Similar points were raised when Morocco's men's team faced off against France in the 2022 men's World Cup Semifinal, which France won.
Here's an overview of the history between these countries, which explains why the upcoming "colonial derbies" have got some so enthused.
A snapshot of France and Morocco's history
Groups from the areas we now call France and Morocco had been trading partners from as early as the 10th century, according to some historians, and Islamic troops connected to Morocco had also established bases in France.
As European powers were stepping up efforts to colonise other parts of the world, France made its first, failed, attempt to conquer Morocco in the 1760s.
The Franco-Moroccan War broke out in 1844 following Morocco's support for Algerian resistance against France's invasion of its neighbour.
In the early 1900s debate raged between France, Germany and the UK about who should take control of Morocco, which came to be known as the first and second Morocco crises in 1905 and 1911.
Eventually, France occupied the Moroccan city of Fes in 1911, and the next year the sultan of the North African country signed the Treaty of Fes, officially ceding Moroccan sovereignty to France.
The country’s sultan continued as head of state, but France took over aspects of policing and taxation, as well as agriculture.
Groups of Moroccans opposed the invasion from the outset and violent fights for independence continued.
Support for independence gathered steam and after several violent uprisings, which led to hundreds of Moroccans being killed by French troops. Morocco was eventually declared independent in 1955.
France and Morocco have maintained strong business ties and migration between the countries is popular - an estimated 1.5 million Moroccans were believed to live in France in 2015.
Relations between the Netherlands and South Africa
The Dutch established a settlement at what's now called Cape Town, South Africa, in 1652. At that time, the Netherlands was sending sailors around the world to 'explore' regions far from Europe, including the continent that later became known as Australia.
Slavery was practised in the small colony ran by the Dutch East India Company from early on, with Dutch traders enslaving locals and trafficking people from Indonesia over to use as slaves.
White settlers eventually grew in power and stole more land from tribes, with violent and bloody wars breaking out.
In 1795, the UK took over administration of the colony, a move made permanent in 1806.
Over time the Dutch language spoken there was mixed with other local dialects and Afrikaans became a distinct language. It remains an official language of South Africa.
In 1931 South Africa became fully independent from British rule and in 1961 it became a republic.
England's colonisation of Nigeria
The British decision to colonise Nigeria was formalised during the 1884 Berlin Conference, at which European countries divided up parts of Africa into colonies that they would rule over.
In 1900, the country officially became a British protectorate and was divided into northern and southern protectorates, which were united in 1914.
The British wanted to exploit the land for resources such as palm oil, cocoa, tin, cotton and much more.
They enforced their rule with a violent military presence and crushed local resistance, while spreading Christianity through the country with missionaries and churches.
Following World War II, independence struggles were gaining more momentum across Africa and the British Empire was losing influence.
Nigeria gained a degree of self-rule in 1954, and full independence from the UK in 1960.
In recent years, the UK government has discussed building stronger ties with Nigeria and in 2017 the UK's bilateral trade relationship with Nigeria was around £3.8bn per annum ($7.4 billion).
