“Broken and betrayed”: Moroccan math prodigies open up about visa failure ending Olympiad dreams

Four of Morocco’s brightest young minds were set to shine on the international stage this month at the 2025 European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) in Kosovo. But just 48 hours before they were supposed to fly, the trip was canceled because their visas hadn’t been requested in time.

“I felt broken and betrayed,” said one of the selected students who spoke to Hespress English under the condition of anonymity.

“I worked so hard every day of every week to represent my country in the best possible way and make young Moroccan mathematicians proud. And I totally trusted the officials with all of my information, my passport, and my dedication.”

This year’s EGMO, held in Pristina, was meant to be a reward for years of rigorous training. The Moroccan team, four high school girls who had spent every school vacation in math camps for three years, had been officially invited, and the country’s participation was confirmed.

But on April 9th, just two days before departure, the team was tod that Morocco would not participate.

“We were never told why the visas weren’t done. Even when we asked, the officials avoided answering.”

“This could have easily been avoided, just by doing their work in time,” the student said. “It’s an international competition, visas wouldn’t have been refused.”

The girls weren’t just excited about the competition, it was something they’d built their entire high school careers around. 

“I sacrificed the preparation for my baccalaureate,” said the student, who is currently in her third year of high school. “We had camps that lasted a week each, during every school break. I feel like all that effort was for nothing.”

To even be eligible for the EGMO Team Selection Test (TST), the girls first had to be part of the National Math Olympiad (NaMO), which they were. 

“We started going to NaMO preparation camps in our first year of high school, and these camps last until our final year,” the student explained. “It’s a three-year journey, and every vacation, we dedicated ourselves to these camps.”

In December 2024, the team was told they’d take the EGMO TST during a preparation camp. “We worked hard, and by the end of January, we passed the test and got selected for the team,” the student continued. 

From that point on, the preparations intensified. “After the March camp, which was the NaMO finals, we really ramped up. We were just weeks away from the contest, and then on April 9th, we received the message saying we weren’t going anymore due to ‘administrative problems.’”

And this isn’t the first time it’s happened. In 2024, Morocco’s National Math Team also missed the International Mathematical Olympiad in London due to a failure to secure visas in time.