The golden age of Morocco's sports sector
Morocco's commitment to sport is clear, and to football in particular even more so. Since Mohammed VI's accession to the throne in 1999, the national development strategy in various sectors has positioned the Moroccan kingdom in a great position on the world stage today.
The North African country's diplomatic, economic and other developments in various fields are clear and distinct thanks to the plan drawn up over the decades. And sport and football have not escaped this dynamic.
Football has reached a high level of development in Morocco in recent years, something that is linked to the great enthusiasm that has existed among the Moroccan population for this universal sport.
A great example of the state's commitment to football is the significant infrastructure provided by the Moroccan state to promote the national game and encourage young Moroccans to play at the highest level. The flagship of this commitment is the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Rabat-Salé, which, thanks to the resources at its disposal, has produced footballers of the calibre of Youssef En-Nesyri and Azzedine Ounahi.
The high level achieved by young Moroccan players, together with the talent brought by other players born in other countries such as France or Spain, but of Moroccan descent, has already led to a great leap in the quality of the Moroccan national football team, which achieved an excellent result at the last World Cup in Qatar 2022. The team coached by Walid Regragui reached the semi-finals, the best ever World Cup result for an Arab and African team, and were only beaten by Kylian Mbappé's powerful France, who finished as runners-up in the World Cup.
This dynamic also includes women's football; it is worth noting the great role played by the women's national team at the last World Cup in Australia and New Zealand where, after their first participation in a World Cup, they reached the round of 16, where the Atlas Lionesses were defeated by the powerful French team.
This new dimension of Moroccan football is generating more excitement among fans and this increases the attractiveness of Moroccan football and the business around it. With better audiences, more investments and more wealth generated in relation to the beautiful game. A situation also boosted by the state's efforts to promote the football and sports industry in general.
Morocco's high profile
The new international dimension of Moroccan football is also leading to a new geopolitical positioning on this scale. Thanks to this great positioning, Morocco has now been designated as one of the hosts of the 2030 World Cup, alongside Spain and Portugal, and will also be responsible for organising the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. This shows how much confidence there is in the North African country.
The rise of Moroccan football at all levels is clear, and, in this line, the Omega Centre for Economic and Geopolitical Research published a study on the project marked for the football industry in Morocco, highlighting the need to previously establish mechanisms to codify the practice and raise its level, with the aim of developing the football product, something that would benefit the soft power of the Moroccan country, making the government undertake a financial support initiative, with the need to open up to Moroccan and foreign investors through investment funds, as reported by Al-Arab media.
The Omega Centre stressed that football went years ago from being a hobby based on spectacle to an independent industry that seeks marketing and profitability without wasting its raw material, which is spectacle, and calls for turning the sports club into a listed company, with the possibility of investment open to all those interested.
The Omega Centre stated that in Morocco there is a political desire by the Moroccan authorities to move Moroccan football from amateurism to professionalism in stages, and to this end the law of 30 September 2009 was enacted, which stipulates the need to create professional football club sports companies whose aim is to promote a high-level professional management. A more professional management of the professional clubs and also of the lower categories, which will serve the further development of the sector.
In this regard, Younes Belfalah, professor of economics, confirmed that "the football sector in Morocco has recently become a very important investment destination for all global investment funds and international companies. There is strong competition to benefit from sports investments and what they can produce, not only at the level of financial and economic benefits for the sports sectors and the improvement of the quality of sports, especially in terms of infrastructure and the quality of players and clubs, but also from the political aspect that would affect the equation". "Sports and their ability to mobilise influence is an important soft power," explained Belfalah, as reported by Al-Arab.
Football and sport in general also serve to sell a good national image, something that can also be used as a weapon of soft power. Morocco is a country that is currently playing a major international diplomatic role, participating in major international political movements, such as the famous Abraham Accords, whereby several Arab countries established diplomatic relations with Israel under the auspices of the United States, with a view to pacifying the Middle East region and promoting its development at all levels.
Thanks to its intense international diplomacy, Morocco is considered a reliable partner on the world stage in various areas such as the economy, thanks to its significant economic and industrial development planned under the reign of Mohammed VI, and security and the fight against terrorism, an area in which Morocco actively collaborates with powers such as the United States, France and Spain to combat jihadist groups and criminal gangs operating in North Africa and in troubled areas such as the Sahel.
Sport, and football in particular, can also serve as a weapon of soft power to exert great international influence and further position Morocco with a favourable and powerful image on the world stage.
Investment in sport is beneficial because it enhances Morocco's sports industry. But also, this private investment and promotion by the state generates a strong industry that also creates wealth and foreign exchange.
"Investment in this sector, whether by the state or foreign investment, is actually an influential area that generates hard currency, as it will constitute not only an item for state budget expenditure, but also an important resource for return on investment, able to advance the issue of economic growth and create jobs and employment opportunities, supporting Moroccan projects and the country's image abroad in terms of leverage," explained Younes Belfalah, who also indicated that "the presence of infrastructure in Morocco through major investments in the improvement of stadiums and the Mohammed VI Football Academy, in addition to the achievements of the national team, along with the fact that Morocco will host the 2030 World Cup and the 2025 African Cup of Nations are important milestones that give Morocco a fundamental character as an important and influential African and Arab destination in terms of football, as it has important mechanisms, also with an important infrastructure and an avid public for football".
In this sense, Fouzi Lekjaa, Minister in charge of the Budget and President of the Moroccan Football Federation, argued, with a view to the next football World Cup in 2030, that the aim is to make the challenges that will arise between now and 2030 "a means to accelerate the pace of development of our country", stressing, as a member of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), that "our country has always been a destination for investors, but the pace will be increasing in various infrastructures".
A recent study estimates the size of Morocco's sports industry at approximately 19 billion dirhams ($1.8 billion) by the end of 2022, representing the revenues of private companies working in this field. This figure is equivalent to 1.56% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) revenue and the study expects it to double to 38 billion dirhams ($3.7 billion) by 2030, when Morocco will host the World Cup, along with Spain and Portugal.
Morocco's burgeoning sports sector is in a golden age, especially in football, and strong performances at sporting and office level point to a promising future for the Moroccan kingdom in the coming years.