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Rabat – President of Olympique Khouribga Youssef Jalili visited Lisbon to meet with his counterpart from Portuguese club SL Benfica to potentially start a partnership between the two clubs, Portuguese football outlet O Jogo reported.
Should the partnership work out, SL Benfica may end up opening an academy in the Moroccan city, integrated with Olympique Khouribga.
The Moroccan club is counting on Benfica’s assistance to “revolutionize” its club structure, O Jogo added.
The partnership may benefit not only the Khouribga club, but also Moroccan football as a whole, helping nurture young talents with more accessible facilities and professional coaches with experience in European football.
SL Benfica are known for their advanced youth talent programs, having recently produced players such as Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo.
Recent investments in Moroccan football have led to the production of several top-class talents, many of whom were part of Morocco’s 2022 World Cup squad, which went on to reach the tournament’s semi-finals.
Following that triumph, football authorities and clubs in the countries are looking at ways to improve the country’s football infrastructure and make it a better ecosystem for young talents to flourish.
Portugal has also been discussed as one of the options to be co-hosts of the 2030 World Cup alongside Morocco. Earlier this month, President of Morocco’s Royal Football Federation Fouzi Lekjaa discussed the possibility of a Morocco-Spain-Portugal joint bid for the international competition.
