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Rabat — Morocco continues to capture the attention of the global community with its efforts to elevate its footballing stature.
The Athletic by the New York Times featured Morocco’s remarkable rise as a football powerhouse in Africa, demonstrating how the North African country leveraged sport to build international influence.
“With its clay terraces, the ochre-coloured Stade El Harti in Marrakech’s bustling Gueliz district is a venue that nearly demonstrates the transformation in Moroccan football over the past decade,” the website wrote, talking about Morocco’s investment in football infrastructure and how it reshaped the country’s landscape.
The feature also focused on how Morocco is now positioned as a leader in African football, with hopes of turning this success into an economic power.
Notably, The Athletic cited Morocco’s ambition to attract 17 million tourists by 2026 and a higher 26 million by 2030.
“There are ambitious numbers, but Morocco is clearly not lacking in confidence” the outlet wrote, recalling the efforts made by all stakeholders to contribute to the country’s socio-economic growth.
The sports publication also highlighted how Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Football Federation known as FRMF, has been key in Morocco’s football growth.
“A change in direction was needed and football- previously viewed as simply part of the entertainment industry- became a political priority. And the man at the front of that change was Lekaa,” The Athletic said.
The source also talked about Morocco’s investments on its projects, spending around € 80 million in football infrastructure projects.
Of course, The Athletic piece couldn’t tell the whole story without mentioning Morocco’s historic performance at the 2022 World Cup, where the nation made history by becoming the first Arab and African country to reach the semi-finals.
Morocco’s remarkable journey through the tournament captured global attention, with the team delivering spectacular performances that defied expectations.
The excitement, however, was not limited to the pitch, as the country’s love for football was on full display.
Moroccans celebrated every win with unmatched fervor with streets filled with fans draped in the national colors, waving flags and wearing Morocco jerseys.
“In 2022 Morocco became the first African or Arab nation to reach a World Cup semi-final,” The Athletic wrote, noting how the country hailed as one of the competition’s great underdog stories.
This captured “hearts and minds well beyond the continent, but it did not happen by accident,” the publication added, recalling the huge investments in sports.
The New York Times cited several initiatives Morocco introduced, including the Mohammed VI football academy, which covers not only sports training , but also has a school and medical center.
“By 2017, five other regional training centers were built in different parts of the country, though the Moroccan FA did not reveal costs for each of the projects,” The Athletic wrote.
The outlet also shed light on the journeys of football stars, like Achraf Hakimi, and their contributions to the country’s success during the campaign in Qatar.
