Rabat – Moroccan national team and AS FAR striker Sanaa Mssoudy has led an outstanding performance in the ongoing Total Energies African Nations Cup in Morocco, attracting recognition at both the national and regional levels.
The 22-year-old Moroccan striker was recently nominated for the Goal of the Year prize in CAF Awards 2022 for her goal during last year’s Total Energies CAF Women’s champion League against Nigeria’s River Angels Football Club.
Mssoudy’s football skills also shined in the July 18 match against Nigeria’s national team, when the Moroccan striker scored the equalizer goal, renewing chances for a Moroccan victory after Nigerian forward player Uchenna Kanou scored at 62 minutes.
Following Mssoudy’s goal, the two teams struggled to score a winning goal during the remaining time and the 30 minutes extra time, until the Atlas Lionesses led the penalties-kick shoutout, securing Morocco a ticket to the Wafcon final and the 2023 World Cup.
Professional Football Career
With over 15 years of experience in football, the Morocco striker is a prominent face of Moroccan football.
“The first time I joined a club, I was 5 or 6 year-old,” Messoudy said during an interview for the “Atlas Lionesses: Hear Them Roar!” documentary.
The Moroccan football player added that her debut was in a “normal club.” At the time, Mssoudy’s mom opposed her choice to pursue football, while her father provided her with moral support, teaching her “a lot of things about football.”
Mssoudy launched her football career playing for Wydad (WAC)’s U10 team between 2006 and 2008 before joining the Sport Association of the Royal Armed Forces (AS FAR) as a professional football player.
Throughout her journey with AS FAR, the Moroccan striker has helped her club win the 2014 Friendship Cup, the 2017 North Africa Tournament, as well as seven throne cups and eight championships in Morocco from 2014 to 2021.
Last year, the number 18 jersey holder led AS FAR to third place in the first-ever Total Energies CAF Women’s Champions League.
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Mssoudy was also selected by the cup organizers for the Best XI team, alongside three AS FAR players; defensive midfielder Fatima Zahra Dahmos, defender Chhiri Ghizlane, and midfielder Fatima Tagnaout.
Commenting on the club’s achievement, Mssoudy took to instagram on November 23 to express her pride of being “part of the best CL starting lineup and making history by scoring the first Hat-trick and to be elected woman of the match in this first edition as well.”
“Alhamdullah it’s always a pleasure & very special moment. Thanks to all my teammates at As-far. I couldn’t have done it without them,” she added, giving special thanks to the club’s fans who “deserve better than this, much better” while promising them to bring the next cup home.
Happy to represent Morocco
Alongside her work with SA FAR, Mssoudy joined the Moroccan national team in 2015 under the U17 division before transitioning to U20 in 2017. The same year, she was called to join team A, the senior selection. “I was very happy,” Mssoudy said, referring to her excitement to represent her home country.
This summer, Mssoudy and some of her AS FAR friends are representing Morocco in the Wafcon on their homeland. The Moroccan selection includes local players and Moroccan players born or raised abroad.
Mssoudy noted that the fact that a large number of AS FAR players are part of the Moroccan selection helped to establish a synergy within the team. She added, “girls coming from abroad, this is their group [It is] our home.”
The Moroccan striker explained that the local players try to communicate in French, English, and Spanish to facilitate the integration of their colleagues coming from abroad.
“We try to adapt to them and transmit the information to them,” Mssoudy said.
The 22-year-old striker, who hopes to become a coach one day, has repeatedly stressed her desire to win the African Nations Cup.
As the Atlas Lionesses prepare for their first Wafcon final match that will take place on Saturday July 23, Moroccan football fans have shown increasing support for the national team, considering them a source of inspiration and pride for Moroccan football.
“I would like to tell the Moroccan fans that we need them in this time,” Mssoudy said in the Atlas Lionnesses documentary.
