“Morocco’s sporting achievements and all that has been done in the Kingdom over the last fifteen years are not the fruit of chance, but of a complete program of reflection and the action of a Sovereign who mobilizes all the means,” the French technician told MAP.
He praised the performance of the Atlas Lionesses at the Women’s World Cup, the first Arab team to reach the last 16, as well as that of Morocco at the Francophone Games (July 28-August 6 in Kinshasa), which finished on the top step of the podium.
“It’s not by chance that Moroccans are emerging everywhere,” he said. “There is a national technical directorate, a program, a plan and a Sovereign who is mobilizing all the resources.”
Le Roy, who has coached several European clubs and numerous African and Arab teams during his long career, stressed that behind the successes of Moroccan sports, particularly in the men’s and women’s football World Cups, lies a “political will” to take sports to the highest level, as well as investment on all fronts.
“There has been a complete program of reflection, progression, animation and quality educators, in the image of the Mohammed VI Football Academy, which produces top-level coaching,” he said.
He insisted that “there are no secrets in football in particular and sports in general. You have to work patiently, and then the results come. Effort always pays off in the end.”
According to him, “what Moroccan football is experiencing is also the fruit of patience, perseverance, quality and good relations between athletes, technical staff and management teams.”
“The qualification of the Atlas Lionesses is a real feat in this respect, proving the moral strength and mental qualities of this team, which has already gone a step further by reaching the final of the African Cup”, he maintained.
Losing the first match 6-0 and then qualifying with two successive victories is a “real achievement”, said Le Roy, who praised the “incredible mental quality” of the Moroccan players.
