Hichem Hamdouchi has been Africa's #1 player for many years now.  The top player for Morocco resides in France and plays most of his chess in Europe. He recently scored well the FIDE Chess Championship in Libya winning the first two rounds before losing to Michael Adams of England.

Morocco has an ambitious player in IM Mohammad Tisser who has aspirations of becoming a Grandmaster, but realizes that he needs more opportunities. His opportunity may come in this tournament as he will don  vice-chair after Hamdouchi.

Morocco has an interesting history in chess. The beautiful desert country was home to the Moors who wee credited with bringing chess (among other things) into Europe during their 711-1491AD rule. The Moors were fond of chess including blindfold and consultation games. Certainly, they would be proud to see the game being played in Spain, a land on which they bestowed a wonderful legacy.