La influencia de Marruecos a través del deporte
Sports, particularly football, have become a stronghold for Morocco, cementing its soft power, which favours the nation and projects a favourable image that gives it exposure in the Arab world and abroad, generating greater attraction. The rise of Moroccan sport goes beyond the prestigious triumphs of the national football team. The success of the Mediterranean Games and the Islamic Solidarity Games is a consequence of the degree of importance accorded by the power headed by Mohammed VI.
The scope, significance, weight and magnitude of Alawi sport is the result of a good job done over the years, which did not focus on the pursuit of short-term success, but on building a sporting structure in the Kingdom that will bring prestige and, in the long term, much greater success than has been achieved so far. From Sofiane Bakkali's gold medal at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in the 3000m steeplechase to the Moroccan Faouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Football Federation, elected as a member of the FIFA Council, representing the African continent.
Morocco has made significant strides in sports diplomacy, most recently with its joint bid with Spain and Portugal to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup. These actions were taken after Morocco was successful in hosting a number of international competitions, having teams and athletes competing internationally, and having prominent officials in international sports organisations. Morocco was able to establish a strong presence in international organisations and at the level of sports diplomacy.
Moroccan officials are well represented in organisations and the country has organised and won international tournaments with great success. If Morocco manages to secure the vote to host the events in the coming months, it will have the potential to host three major sporting events over the course of the next seven years. These would include the 2030 World Cup, the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2024 Futsal World Cup. These achievements therefore represented soft power with a sporting flavour, especially since Moroccan officials confirmed that tourist visits to Morocco increased after Morocco's World Cup victory in Qatar.
Morocco rose to fame in 2022 thanks to a string of victories, and their fourth place finish at the World Cup in Qatar last year, which remains the nation's biggest triumph. In addition, Morocco's women's team finished second to South Africa in the final of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations. If chosen to host three major sporting events in the next seven years, Morocco is poised to do so. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has suggested 12 stadiums for the Confederation of African Football (CAF), according to press reports citing FRMF sources. The Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat has 53,454 seats, the Mohammed V stadium in Casablanca has 45,454 seats, the Marrakech stadium has 40,300 seats and the Adrar stadium in Agadir also has a good capacity.
For the first time in its history, the Moroccan women's football team FAR won the African Women's Champions League. During the Islamic Solidarity Games, held in the Turkish city of Konya between 9 and 18 August 2022, Morocco finished sixth overall with 62 medals, including 13 gold, 14 silver and 34 bronze. Morocco ranked first among the Arab nations participating in the event. Around 312 athletes representing 57 sports in 26 different disciplines were federated in the Alawi kingdom in 2022.
In a report, the Ministry of Sports stated that 41 cities in 2022 would host a series of championships in various sports. The Ministry of Sports has allocated 150 million dirhams (15 million dollars) a year, according to official statistics, to build playgrounds for children. The government has allocated 2.2 billion dirhams (219 million dollars) to the sports industry.
In recent years, sporting events have also been held in Morocco with international sports officials in attendance. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has recently made several trips to Morocco, most recently in February for the Club World Cup. The inaugural Executive Bureau meetings were held in Marrakech, Morocco, in January 2019 by FIFA. Following an Executive Bureau meeting in Morocco, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced in Casablanca in June 2021 that the creation of the "African Super League" had been approved. On the eve of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, which the Kingdom will host in June 2022, the CAF Executive Bureau organised a meeting in Rabat, the country's capital.
Morocco was able to use this to improve its external image after establishing itself in numerous organisations and building a solid infrastructure at the national level. The country has recently become a destination for several African nations to train or play official matches in the framework of African championships in Moroccan stadiums. This is soft power on a sporting level. With so many people searching for Morocco extensively on search engines to learn more about it, the World Cup in Qatar was also a great opportunity for the North African country to market its image. This helped attract a number of tourists and investors.
