FIFA hailed Morocco’s exceptional and remarkable effort in the football industry, especially following the nation´s Atlas Lions’ impressive performance during the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
On its official website, FIFA lauded the Atlas Lions’ efforts to obtain a medal at the Paris Olympic Games, describing the efforts as “fruitful.”
The official football body expressed its surprise at the amount of support and encouragement that fans and supporters are expressing to the Olympic Team´s U23 during the tournament.
FIFA wrote: “From Casablanca and Marrakech to Rabat and beyond, hordes of passionate Moroccan fans flocked to the streets, waving the country’s flag and singing in support of the national team.”
In the same statement, they emphasized: “Nobody will forget the historic scenes witnessed during the Qatar World Cup, when the entire country rallied in support of the Atlas Lions, who advanced to the semi-finals and eventually finished fourth.”
The emotion sparked by that incredible run has not faded and when the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 began, those same fans were keen to continue displaying their unwavering support for their national heroes, FIFA hailed.
The team faced difficult hurdles in France, but they demonstrated their quality and strength by reaching the semi-finals of another international event. After advancing from a difficult group that included Argentina, Iraq, and Ukraine, a decisive 4-0 victory against the US in the last eight set up a semi-final match against Spain.
In response to his team’s semi-final loss, Moroccan Head Coach Tarik Sektioui stated: “This was a good lesson for the young players on how to manage situations like that in the future,” demonstrating the country’s forward-thinking footballing mentality as they strive to learn from their mistakes to achieve even greater success.
The Olympic team won the U23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023, securing a spot at the Paris 2024 Games. The youth team advanced to the quarter-finals of the FIFA U17 World Cup Indonesia 2023, highlighting recent efforts at the country’s academies.
The Atlas Lionesses also made significant progress, qualifying for the knockout stages of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation, which is led by Fouzi Lekjaa, has been instrumental in the nation’s ongoing football success by concentrating on developing the nation’s infrastructure and helping local talent academies.
Simultaneously, nationals such as Hakim Ziyech, Noussair Mazraoui, and the Amrabat brothers, who were competing in some of Europe’s top divisions, were persuaded to represent Morocco.
Brahim Diaz of Real Madrid has committed to play for Morocco’s national team, even though he had previously represented Spain in youth categories.
Morocco’s recent success may be largely attributed to Achraf Hakimi, who helped the national teams advance to the semi-finals of both the Qatar 2022 and the Paris 2024 tournaments.
Soufiane Rahimi, who did not make the World Cup team, has excelled at the Olympics and currently holds the top scorer with six goals.
Before their encounter against Spain, the forward, who has 13 goals in the 2023–24 AFC Champions League, spoke with FIFA: “Every athlete wants to score the most goals at the Olympics, of course, but what matters most is supporting my teammates to win a medal and advance as far as we can in the competition.”
If Sektioui’s team defeats Egypt in the bronze medal match and places them on the podium, history may be made once more. If they do, it will be the outcome of their persistent planning and hard work, which has made Morocco one of the global football’s most notable rising powers.
“Obviously, we’re very disappointed, but we have to move on from this defeat quickly because we have another match on Thursday,” the coach stated following the team’s loss to Spain.
“We still have the opportunity to medal, and we wish to do so for the sake of our nation ” he added.