How was future Barcelona striker Vitor Roque affected by the devastating earthquake in Morocco?

Future Barcelona forward Vitor Roque and Brazil’s under-23 soccer team were very nearly caught in the middle of Friday’s devastating earthquake in Morocco. The North African country was shaken by a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake late on Friday, with its epicentre pinpointed as being 71 kilometres (44 miles) to the southwest of Marrakech, the country’s fourth largest country. At the time of writing, there have been over 1000 casualties, with many more injured.

Why was Vitor Roque in Morocco with Brazil?

The Brazil under-23 team are currently staying in Fez in Morocco, as they are in the middle of a double header against the Atlas Lions’ under-23 side. On Thursday 7 September, they were beaten 1-0 by their hosts at the Fez Sports complex and are due to face the same opponents at the same venue, in the northeast of the country, on Monday 11 September.

The two matches are being played as part of Brazil’s preparations for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, with under-23 teams, with the addition of some overaged players, set to take part in the soccer tournament.

The earthquake was felt in a number of different areas and indeed countries, including Western Sahara, Mauritania, Algeria and southern Spain and Portugal. The Brazil players, including Real Madrid youngster Vinicius Tobias, were asked to leave their hotel rooms as a result of the incident and congregate by the pool, although they were eventually allowed to return for the rest of the night. The CBF (Brazil’s soccer federation) confirmed that no players had been injured.

When will Vitor Roque join Barcelona?

In July this year, Barcelona revealed that they had agreed a deal to sign 18-year-old Vitor Roque from Brazilian club Athletico Paranaense, with the young striker expected to move to Catalonia in time for the 2024-25 season. The teenager has made one appearance for Brazil’s full team, incidentally against Morocco in Tangier, in March 2023.