In the wake of the Atlas Lions’ historic achievement at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the result of several years of commitment, the sports news website devotes a photographic report to this Moroccan passion, describing society’s attachment to football, “a center of aggregation and life”.
“On the streets, in cafés, in small shops … football is everywhere,” it notes.
Football and daily life in Morocco are “inextricably linked”, writes the portal, which, through photographs taken in Casablanca and Fez, highlights this social reality that unites all Moroccans around the noble values of sport.
According to the magazine, Morocco’s triumph in Qatar, the culmination of a series of investments and far-sighted management of emerging talent, was a consecration of this great national passion.
“Morocco’s football renaissance began earlier and is not over yet,” it believes, noting that the adventure really began with the inauguration of the Mohammed VI Football Academy, born of a strong royal ambition to promote the sector.
According to the specialist website, the academy boosted Moroccan football by identifying and training some of the country’s best young players, including Youssef En-Nesyri, Azzedine Ounahi and Nayef Aguerd.
“A few years later, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) set out to identify the best Moroccan talents from all over the world, especially Europe,” it continued, citing Soufiane Amrabat, Hakim Ziyech and Abdelhamid Sabiri.
The portal also praised the “astuteness” of coach Walid Regragui, who believed in the likes of Walid Cheddira, who is in contention to become Serie B’s top scorer with Bari, and young goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who performed heroically against Spain and with Sevilla.
Morocco reached the semifinals of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, eliminating Spain and Portugal in the round of 16 and quarterfinals.
