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Rabat – The Moroccan Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture, Othman El Ferdaous, revealed several “resilience” measures that his ministry has taken to promote and reform sports in the wake of COVID-19, most recently including a hashtag for suggestions from youth.
El Ferdaous announced the reform in a Facebook post on Sunday, noting that “sports practice is a form of self-treatment and one of the means of citizenship education.”
“It is also an art that requires the ability to recognize and appreciate talent,” he added.
In order to engage the Moroccan youth in sports, the minister launched the hashtag #FikraRyadia, meaning “sports idea,” to welcome Moroccans’ suggestions to address the sector’s challenges.
Participants should send their suggestions with the hashtag before August 26.
Project suggestions should address issues that require a solution; shortcomings in a current solution; an innovative approach or technology; an approach to reduce inequalities in sports; or an update on a certain sports service.
The minister pointed in particular to gender equity in Moroccan sports and overall inclusion as central aims of the campaign.
El Ferdaous’ ministry will then study the suggestions and “pick the best proposal in order to achieve it.”
The official has already started sharing young Moroccans’ suggestions on his Facebook page.
The ministry’s program also includes signing complementary annexes to agreements with more than 30 Moroccan sports universities, to provide financial support of MAD 82 million ($8.8 million).
“These decisions should enable federations to face the difficulties associated with the epidemic and to safely embark on professional management of sports affairs,” El Ferdaous wrote.
The ongoing program also includes transforming 32 football clubs into companies by providing financial support of MAD 80 million ($8.6 million) to the Moroccan Royal Football Federation (FRMF), which is set to allocate MAD 2.5 million ($272,000) to each football club’s budget.
The allocation aims to improve Moroccan sports clubs’ ability to secure sponsorships, sell licenses, create affiliations, garner donations, and more.
In addition to FRMF, the ministry also aims to strengthen the work program of the Royal Moroccan Athletics Federation (FRMATH). It will provide a subsidy of MAD 50 million ($5.4 million), in addition to MAD 7 million ($757,000) for arrears.
