Governing Bodies
A Year of Global Excellence for Moroccan Sports
Moroccan sports reached new heights in 2023, securing triumphs and admiration on global and continental stages in a wide range of disciplines.
In 2023, Moroccan athletes have excelled on both continental and international stages, highlighting the nation’s prowess across diverse sporting disciplines. From the football fields to the athletic arenas, Moroccan athletes have in the past year consistently demonstrated exceptional skill and determination.
These triumphs not only underscore individual dedication but also highlight the robust sports infrastructure supporting excellence in Morocco, fostering a sense of pride and unity across the nation.
The 2023 Moroccan Football Revolution
Morocco achieved a historic milestone at the very end of 2022, etching its name in football history as the first African or Arab nation to advance to the semi-finals of a World Cup.
The remarkable journey in Qatar unfolded with triumphant victories over heavyweight opponents such as Belgium, Spain, and Portugal, showcasing prowess and determination.
The Moroccan team’s stellar performance throughout the tournament captivated global audiences, culminating in a fourth-place finish and a riveting semi-final encounter that unfortunately ended in defeat against France, the former world champions.
In October, the Moroccan Royal Palace endorsed the joint hosting of the 2030 World Cup by Morocco, Spain, and Portugal. King Mohammed VI hailed this as a historic step forward for Moroccan football and thanked the three countries’ footballing authorities for their cooperation.
Morocco has also demonstrated prowess in hosting significant continental sports events, such as the Women’s U23 Africa Cup of Nations. Additionally, the nation successfully secured the hosting rights for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2025.
Under the leadership of Fouzi Lekjaa since 2017, the Moroccan Football Federation has achieved these milestones through dedicated efforts, including ongoing reconstruction projects and the development of the Grand Casablanca Stadium with a seating capacity of approximately 99,000 seats.
Morocco’s national football teams, in all categories, have achieved remarkable success on both the global and continental stages.
The women’s national team, the Atlas Lionesses, made history by securing qualification for the round of 16 in their debut at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia.
The Moroccan U-17 team reached the last eight of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023, their best result to date. The Olympic squad triumphed at the U23 Africa Cup of Nations, while the Sporting Casablanca women’s team reached the final of the African Champions League.
Meanwhile, the senior Atlas Lions Lions were the first national team to qualify for the final phase of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which will be held in Cote d’Ivoire at the beginning of next year.
Morocco has notably maintained its standing as the 13th-best national football team in the world and continues to lead both African and Arab countries in the global rankings, outranking countries like Senegal and Egypt.
At the 2023 CAF Awards in Marrakech, Moroccan coaches and players were honored in several categories. The national team, led by coach Walid Reguragui, won National Team of the Year. Yassine Bounou was awarded Goalkeeper of the Year, while Hakimi and Amrabat were named in the Best Men XI.
In the women’s category, Fatima Tagnaout received the Interclub Player of the Year for her exceptional performances with both the national team and her club AS FAR, earning her a spot in the Best Woman XI. Additionally, Nesryene El Chad, a 20-year-old defender playing for Lille OSC at club level, won the CAF Women’s Young Player of the Year award.
Also this year, Morocco’s short-statured national football team made a significant impact in the category’s global tournament and contributed to a remarkable revolution in the field of football for people with dwarfism. The team achieved a remarkable feat by reaching the quarter-finals in the category’s inaugural 2023 World Cup held in Argentina, marking a historic milestone for this unique sporting event.
Aside from football, the year 2023 has been a great year for Morocco in other sporting disciplines. This includes athleticism, boxing, taekwondo, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Karate, and many other fields.
Moroccan boxing in global stages
The Moroccan boxing season commenced with the successful 6th edition of the Mohammed VI International Boxing Trophy in Marrakech, where the national team, including both men and women, achieved remarkable success by taking home one gold and three silver medals.
Khadija El Mardi won the world title in the -81 kg category in New Delhi, with this historic achievement making her the first woman from both the Arab and African regions to attain this prestigious honor.
The season finale for Moroccan boxing unfolded gloriously at the African Championship in Yaoundé, Cameroon, where the national team emerged victorious with an impressive haul of 8 gold medals and 2 silver medals.
Moroccan Taekwondo earns global acclaim
Like their compatriots in other sports, Moroccan taekwondo athletes have left an indelible mark on the international stage, securing top positions. Starting at the Arab Cup in Dubai with 13 medals, their success continued at the African Nations Championship in Côte d’Ivoire, earning 11 medals, including 7 golds.
The excellence of Moroccan taekwondo has transcended regional boundaries and earned global recognition over the past year. Notably, the Moroccan women’s and mixed teams secured a prestigious silver medal at the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships in Korea.
In adaptive taekwondo, Moroccan champions excelled at the Grand Prix in Mexico, standing on the podium twice, showcasing their skill and determination.
Soufiane Bekkali takes Morocco to the top of the world
Moroccan race runners joined their compatriots in other sporting disciplines in proudly representing their country on the regional and global stages. They too achieved global success throughout the past months, with the notable point being Morocco’s triumph at the World Championships in Budapest.
Morocco featured honorably at the global championships in the Hungarian capital, with Soufiane Bekkali once again impressing the world with consecutive gold medals in the 3000m steeplechase and Fatima Zahrae Kerdadi taking bronze in the marathon.
Morocco hosted the Mohammed VI International Meeting, where Bekkali set a world best and a new meeting record in the 3000m steeplechase (7:56.68). Meanwhile, at the 9th Francophone Games in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco set a record with 57 medals—22 gold, 16 silver, and 19 bronze.
Moroccan Muay Thai’s Double Triumph in 2023
Moroccan Muay Thai has also earned acclaim on the international stage. At the World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand, the team secured 10 medals. The U23 selection also excelled, claiming the top position at the World Cup in Turkey in 2023 with a total of 10 medals.
Further solidifying their dominance, the national Muay Thai team triumphed at the Mediterranean Championships in Loutraki, Greece, securing an impressive haul of 7 gold medals.
All of these impressive performances and historic triumphs in various sporting disciplines on the regional and global stage have made 2023 a bountiful year for Moroccan sports. From historic football performances and Muay Thai triumphs to moments in athletics and taekwondo, Moroccan athletes have shown that they are a force to be reckoned with in their respective categories.
As Moroccans revel in these victories, they serve as a unifying force and a testament to the nation’s growing prominence in the world of sports. With the promise of continued success, Morocco is gradually emerging as a formidable contender, poised for even greater achievements in the future.
-Morocco World News
A former member of the FIFA Council, Mamoutou Toure, has been released from jail in Mali after almost two years in detention for alleged corruption, Malian media reports said on Wednesday.
Toure, president of the Malian Football Federation since 2019, was released after 622 days in prison on Tuesday.
He served on the FIFA Council, world football’s all-powerful decision-making body, for four years until last month when he lost his seat after failing to contest new elections.
The 67-year-old was arrested in August 2023 on allegations of embezzling $28 million of public funds but was granted a provisional release order by the Malian courts, reports said.
He was accused of misconduct during his time as the National Assembly’s financial and administrative director from 2013-2019.
Toure denied all charges and, during his time in jail, was last August re-elected as Malian Football Federation president for a second consecutive term, with his supporters claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy fuelled by detractors.
While in jail, he received a letter of support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, as of last month, Toure is no longer a member of the FIFA Council or the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee.
-Reuters
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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied reports of an outstanding debt to former captain Christian Chukwu and has challenged anyone with verifiable documents to prove otherwise.
Chukwu, a former national team captain and chief coach, died last Saturday.
The Nigeria Football Federation decried statements in a section of social media that the football-ruling body was indebted to the deceased.
Reacting to one statement on social media that claimed NFF owed the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations-winning team captain the sum of $128,000, NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said: “There is no record in the NFF of any outstanding indebtedness to ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu.
“During the first term of the Board headed by Amaju Pinnick, a committee was set up to diligently peruse the papers of coaches who were being owed, even from previous NFF administrations.
“That committee was given the clear mandate to verify all debts and ensure that the coaches being owed were paid immediately. I am aware that the ‘Chairman’ was in the employ of the NFF between 2002 and 2005, before he was relieved of the post following the 1-1 draw with Angola in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Kano in August 2005. There is certainly no record of indebtedness to him in the NFF.”
Sanusi challenged anyone with genuine and verifiable documents of NFF indebtedness to any coach, who has worked with any of the National Teams over the past two decades, to come forward and tender those documents.
“As a credible organization that is very much alive to its responsibilities, if we are confronted with any genuine document of indebtedness to any coach, we will offset the debt immediately.”
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Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and France soccer great Michel Platini were both cleared of corruption charges by a Swiss court on Tuesday, two and a half years after they were first acquitted of the offences.
The pair, once among the most powerful figures in global soccer, were cleared of fraud at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in the town of Muttenz, near Basel.
The hearing came about after Swiss federal prosecutors appealed against their 2022 acquittal at a lower court.
Both men had denied the charge which related to a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.26 million) payment Blatter authorised for Platini in 2011.
The court said there were doubts about the prosecution’s allegation the payment for Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team, was fraudulent.
The 2022 indictment had accused Blatter and Platini of deceiving FIFA staff in 2010 and 2011 about an obligation for world soccer’s ruling body to pay Platini.
“They falsely claimed that FIFA owed Platini, or that Platini was entitled to, the sum of 2 million Swiss francs for advisory work. This deception was achieved through repeated untruthful claims made by both accused parties,” the indictment said.
But the court cleared the pair, saying their account of an oral agreement for the payment could not be ruled out.
Platini had argued that the payment had been partly deferred until 2011 because FIFA lacked the funds to pay him in full immediately.
The court said the pair had both been consistent in their accounts of the payment, which covered consultancy work carried out by Platini for Blatter between 1998 and 2002.
Platini’s experience as a top footballer and coach, explained the size of the payment, said the court, which followed the legal principle that in cases of doubt, favour the accused.
“It can not be assumed that the defendants acted with the intention of enriching themselves in the sense of the charged offences,” the court said.
The scandal, which emerged in 2015 when Platini was president of European soccer’s ruling body UEFA, ended his hopes of succeeding Blatter, who was forced out of FIFA over the affair.
Blatter and Platini were suspended from football in 2015 by FIFA for ethics breaches, originally for eight years, although their exclusions were later reduced.
Platini said he was relieved the case was over, and he had received messages of support from 10,000 people.
“The persecution of FIFA and some Swiss federal prosecutors for 10 years is now over,” Platini told reporters. “It is now totally over. And for me, today, my honour has returned and I am very happy.”
The 69-year-old said he thought the case had been intended to prevent him becoming FIFA president, but he was now too old to return to football.
The money, which had been confiscated and held by the Swiss authorities, can now be returned to him.
A frail-looking Blatter hugged his daughter Corinne after the judgement and said he was relieved with the decision.
“It is a great relief for me because it’s been going on for ten years. It’s like a sword of Damocles hanging over my head,” he told reporters.
“And now it’s over and I can breathe,” the 89-year-old said.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 20 months in jail, suspended for two years for both Blatter and Platini.
The Swiss attorney general’s office said it would review the written judgement, before deciding whether to appeal again to the Swiss Federal Court, the country’s highest legal authority.
-Reuters
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