In an article published Tuesday on its website, the international body highlighted the FIFA Forward Programme, which “has helped advance women’s football”, the action of the Mohammed VI Academy which is “leading the way” and the great success for men’s, women’s, Futsal and U-17 teams.
Recalling the organization in Morocco in July 2022 of a FIFA Talent Development Scheme workshop as part of the Talent Development Plan launched by FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger in 2020, the article stresses that “the country has demonstrated a strong desire to continue its development, making resources available to the youth sides that represent the future of Moroccan football.”
In this regard, the author of the article quotes the President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, who said during the workshop that “the development of football in Morocco should be based on a three-pronged approach focusing on facilities, talent and well-qualified staff,” adding that “my Federation colleagues and I are certain that these three elements must be in place to ensure proper development.”
“Moroccan football is starting to reap the rewards of the Federation’s good work, achieving great success at all levels of both the men’s and women’s game,” the same source said.
“The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has been a dream come true for the Atlas Lions, who topped their group to qualify for the round of 16 and become the first African team to earn seven points in a FIFA World Cup group stage, all while being led by a Moroccan coach,” the article notes.
It recalled that Morocco have also had a lot of recent success in futsal, winning the 2020 Africa Futsal Cup of Nations and winning their first ever FIFA Futsal World Cup matches at Lithuania 2021, defeating Solomon Islands 6-0 and Venezuela 3-2, before being knocked out in the quarter-finals after a 1-0 loss to Brazil.
The article also mentions the “growing success of women’s football,” saying that the funds raised have allowed the Kingdom to revive the sport.
“Since then, they have achieved impressive results, reaching the final of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2022 hosted in their own country only to miss out on the title after losing to South Africa. The Atlas Lionesses also qualified for Australia and New Zealand 2023, their first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup,” the author said.
He added that there was success off the pitch too, with record attendances confirming the country’s strong interest in women’s football.
