🦁 How Morocco became Africa's number one football powerhouse — just in time for the World Cup

In a few years, Morocco has transformed from a team that deposits championships in the first rounds, to a real footballing force that terrifies the world's big men. The march of the lions of the Atlas today is not just results, but an integrated national project that began at the Skhirat Sports Conference in 2008, when King Mohammed VI developed an ambitious strategy for the long-term development of Moroccan football. The fruits of that strategy are clear: reaching the 2022 Qatar World Cup semi-finals for the first time in the history of Africa and the Arab world, and then crowning a trophy Africa 2025 despite the controversy that accompanied the final against Senegal, as well as the accumulated titles in the Arab Cup, the African Championship for Locals, the U-20 World Cup, and the African U-17 Championship, not to mention the Olympic bronze in Paris 2024. As for the qualifiers, Morocco was the first African team to secure its seat in the 2026 World Cup, with an impeccable perfect performance: eight victories, six matches without conceding goals, and only two future goals throughout the career. indicators that reveal that lions are not Just present for the tournament, ready to make history again. What's more, officials at the Moroccan Football Federation confirm that the 2026 World Cup is not the final destination, but a stop in a longer journey that extends until 2030, when Morocco will host the World Cup on home soil for the first time in its history. “Even the 2030 World Cup is not the ultimate goal,” says one of the Federation's sources, in a clear sign that this project has no ceiling.