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Morocco head coach Walid Regragui has admitted he is ready to leave his position if the national side fails to win the title on home soil, revealing a frank exchange with the football federation (FRMF) president Fouzi Lekjaa.
Speaking to Spanish daily AS, Regragui said: “My goal now is to win the Africa Cup of Nations and make history with my country. I’m hungry for it.”
The 49-year-old confessed he had offered to resign if results didn’t improve. “I am going to leave. I promised the president I’d go if things didn’t go well.”
However, Lekjaa, he said, urged him to stay and fight. “The president told me, ‘You’re a competitor, and Morocco wants to win. Morocco hasn’t lifted the trophy in fifty years. Show the people that you can do it.’ He convinced me, and we’re on the right track. We have to work hard to make history in this tournament.”
The revelation triggered an online frenzy. One user sneered: “He should’ve gone with the wind. He’s a tactically toothless coach – pampered, funded, and still floundering.”
Yet another user leapt to his defense: “Regragui is the most successful coach Morocco’s ever had.”
A third was more cautious: “If it were up to me, I’d let him leave with dignity. If he fails to win AFCON, the people will forget everything else.”
A fourth went full rant: “This isn’t just about players and coaches. It’s the whole mentality. Enough with the soft diplomacy and sugary fanfare. Morocco must take the title, full stop.”
Another accused Lekjaa of pressure tactics: “Lekjaa basically told him: ‘I gave you the funds, logistics, and backing—now prove your worth to the public, like you did at the World Cup.’”
And then came the cynic’s hammer: “What do I gain, as a citizen, if we win the World Cup or AFCON? You benefit for years. One month of your 70 million dirhams salary could let any Moroccan coach the team, then quit.”
Walid Regragui has at his disposal the strongest and most complete squad in Morocco’s history, and is now under great pressure to lead the Atlas Lions to their second AFCON title on home ground.
