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A Moroccan preacher has sparked controversy by linking the success of the  team to natural disasters and other hardships in the country.

The Moroccan women's football team made history by reaching the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, before on Saturday. The run has been hailed as a milestone in Arab women's football and coincides with the Women's European Championships.

The remarkable run has been widely celebrated in Morocco. 

Before the match, preacher Hamza Elkhaldi women's football matches were "undoubtedly forbidden", partly because their clothing is 'impermissible' for Muslim women.

He said the watching and broadcasting of women's football matches, as well as Morocco's hosting of arts festivals, invoked the wrath of God.

The preacher pointed to the  that tore through parts of the country and high prices of staple goods as consequences of the women's football success.

He appeared to double down on his comments in a, saying "everyone who watches women's matches is without a doubt a sinner".

Though  backed Elkhaldi's comments, others said he was being a killjoy.

"Unless these demeaning perceptions of women are abandoned... we will, unfortunately, hear more of these voices that try to spoil and annoy every joy," The Independent's Arabic-language service  Rafiki Abu Hafs, a preacher known for making statements in defence of , as saying.

Women's football continues to gain an increasing platform worldwide, with tournaments like WAFCON and the ongoing Euro 2022 winning bigger viewerships than ever.