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Rabat – The annual, worldwide Laureus World Sports Awards has listed Morocco’s national football team among nominees for its “World Breakthrough of the Year” award.
The sporting award aims to celebrate and honor sports people achievements throughout the past year, the organizers noted, stressing that the Moroccan national football team’s eye-catching and historic run at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was one of the sporting world’s most enduring highlights in 2022.
“Under head coach Walid Regragui, only appointed at the end of August Morocco became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup,” Laureus recalled, stressing that the Moroccan Atlas Lions stunned and eliminated World Cup favorites and revered national teams like Spain’s and Portugal’s.
“The heroics of players such as Achraf Hakimi, Sofyan Amrabat and goalkeeper Yassine Bounou won them fans across the world,” the organization elaborated.
Several sportsmen and women are competing for the awards in the Breakthrough of the Year category, including tennis player Carlos Alcaraz from Spain, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, and Nigerian athlete Tobi Amusan.
The organization also listed football players Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, who are competing for Laureus World Sportsman of the Year along with Tennis player
Rafael nadal, and NBA player Stephen Curry, among other athletes.
The organization also listed other categories as part of the awards ceremony, including Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year, Laureus World Team of the year, Laureus World Comeback of the Year, as well as Laeurus World Sptorsperson with a Disability of the Year.
The annual event has been celebrating the sporting world’s uplifting stories and paradigm-shifting achievements since 2000.
“Shortlists for seven categories (Sportswoman, Sportsman, Team, Breakthrough, Comeback, Action and Sport for Good) are created by votes from more than 1,000 sports media from over 70 countries,” explained the organizations website. “The shortlist for World Athlete of the Year with a Disability is provided by the International Paralympic Committee.”
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