Rabat – Football is deemed Morocco’s national sport for a reason. More than sport, the beautiful is life-sustaining tribute to the beauty of shared life, of solidarity, of comradeship…. It sustains and gives life to ties and attachments that transcends the traditional dividing lines of daily life.
In fact, for Moroccans, or the crushing majority of them, the beautiful game is a mindset, a culture, a philosophy, a way of loving and expressing it. The list could go on and on, because when it comes to football, Moroccans fans are indescribable.
Legends like the late Abdelmajid Edoulmi, Badou Zaki, Hamid El Hazzaz, Ahmed Faras, Mohammed Timoumi, Aziz Bouderbala, Noureddine Neybet, Mustapha Hadji, Youssouf Hadji, Mehdi Benatia, and so many others are also part of Moroccan popular myth for a reason: the beautiful game is a culmination of love publicly expressed.
It is emotionally binding and yet humanely liberating. The sport has broadened social bridges, created platforms for many to express themselves and climb the social ladder, lifting many out of poverty. It has transformed lives and given hope to many.
Moroccan football simultaneously embodies Moroccanness and universality, thus spurring a spirit of togetherness and harmony and peace, despite how noisy and repulsively nationalistic it can get at times. Yes, in Morocco, football provokes, but it also unifies and inspires, because it is more than just a sport. And that is what it makes it so beautiful and inspirational!
