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Rabat — Morocco didn’t wait for a major sporting event to launch its development journey, according to Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FMRF).
He stressed that hosting the Africa Cup of Nations represents just one chapter in a comprehensive development path that King Mohammed VI has led for more than two decades.
“The kingdom stands ready — organizationally, infrastructurally, and with a vision befitting Morocco’s image on the continent and globally,” Lekjaa told Sky News Arabia’s Counter-Attack Program.
The federation president dismissed suggestions that Morocco’s recent football triumphs happened by chance. “The national team’s achievements are not coincidence, but the fruit of a strategic vision King Mohammed VI launched in 2008,” he explained.
That year, the monarch sent a message to the National Sports Conference that outlined a comprehensive roadmap for developing the country’s sports infrastructure and governance.
The academy that changed everything
Lekjaa pointed to 2009 as the turning point, when authorities inaugurated the Mohammed VI Football Academy. “It has become the true nursery for Moroccan talent,” he said.
“Names that shone at the Qatar World Cup — like Ounahi, Akrd, and Tagnaouti — all came from there.”
He described the academy as “the major turning point in Moroccan football history, because it embodies the philosophy of professionalism and scientific development, and places the Moroccan player in an environment that matches the best global standards.”
The success extends beyond players to the coaching staff. Lekjaa stressed that betting on local talent “wasn’t a gamble, but a strategic conviction.”
“Moroccan coaches today lead all categories of national teams, from youth to senior levels,” he said. “From Walid Regragui to Tarik Sektioui to Nabil Baha — they’re all sons of this national project.”
Building a complete ecosystem
The Mohammed VI Academy didn’t just produce players, according to Lekjaa. It also graduated coaches, analysts, and complete technical staff who work in harmony at the Mohammed VI Football Center, which opened in 2019 and ranks among the world’s best facilities.
The numbers tell a striking story. “In recent years, we’ve reached 29 finals at club and national team levels,” Lekjaa revealed.
“We won 25 of them and lost only four. These results aren’t coincidence, but the product of institutional work with clear objectives.”
He argued that what Morocco has achieved today “isn’t a temporary surge, but the beginning of a long path that will make Morocco a continental and global football power.”
Generation to generation
The federation chief explained that Morocco’s first team now includes players from different age groups who all progressed through the same system. “Generation passes to generation — that’s our motto,” he said.
“All categories work according to one philosophy inside the Mohammed VI Center, from the U17 team to the Olympic team and even the first team. The system is integrated, and every player knows his path before reaching the top.”
Lekjaa noted that grassroots work in academies and clubs has become part of a new football culture “that depends on planning and gradual progression, not on chance or momentary enthusiasm.”
The royal vision, he concluded, has made sports a lever for economic and social development, and transformed football into a fundamental factor for integrating youth into society and building a spirit of citizenship and excellence.
