According to FIFA's official country code system, Morocco is represented by "MAR" because the country is widely known as "Maroc" in French. Morocco's national football team is playing against Brazil today at the New York Stadium, but it is in the headlines not just because of its performances at the FIFA World Cup 2026. FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group C - Brazil v Morocco at New York/New Jersey Stadium. Morocco's Brahim Diaz in action with Brazil's Lucas Paqueta IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Caean Couto (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)One quirk on scoreboards and graphics puzzled a lot of match viewers: Morocco is displayed as "MAR" instead of the more evident "MOR."While most FIFA team abbreviations use the first three letters of a country's English name, Morocco is one of several exceptions. The reason traces back to the country's historical and linguistic ties with France.Why does FIFA use 'MAR' instead of 'MOR'?According to FIFA's official country code system, Morocco is represented by "MAR" because the country is widely known as "Maroc" in French.Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues.