Morocco accelerates football overhaul ahead of AFCON and future World Cup | OneFootball

As Morocco prepares to stage the Africa Cup of Nations from 21 December to 18 January, its football project is scaling up fast. L'Équipe reports that investment spans elite facilities, youth development and club reform.

October unrest after several women died during childbirth at Agadir’s Hassan-II hospital sparked the GenZ 212 slogan about football funds versus other needs, with some internationals also questioning hospital standards amid stadium openings.

Morocco has modernised quickly in roads, rail and electricity over the past 15 years, with football as the shop window. The Mohammed VI complex in Salé opened in 2019, cost about €60m and spans 35 hectares.

It includes multiple grass and synthetic pitches, an indoor surface, futsal areas, an Olympic pool, a high-spec gym, plus a data centre and a three-tier medical unit. Walid Regragui hails prodigious progress, while Fouzi Lekjaa insists on no excuses.

Former Paris Saint-Germain doctor Christophe Baudot now leads the federation’s medical arm. Plans include a clinic, a 9,000 m2 reathletisation and rehabilitation centre, new sports clinics in Tangier and Benslimane, and an African rehabilitation hub in Dakhla.

The separate Mohammed VI Academy, launched 15 years ago, produced semi-finalists Nayef Aguerd, Azzedine Ounahi, Youssef En-Nesyri and Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti. Nine regional academies are being built, diaspora scouting is systematic, and women’s funding has risen from €6m to €60m.

Clubs are moving to professional company status, inviting private capital, with Raja selling 60% to Marsa Maroc and Wydad set to open up. The push also serves diplomacy, with visa exemptions for Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, and FIFA’s Africa office in Salé.

Source: L'Équipe