Morocco’s national blind football team, who were bronze medalists at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, is out to win the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Morocco’s News Agency (MAP) reported.
Morocco has been placed in Group B with Argentina, the current world champion, as well as Japan and Colombia.
During its first ever appearance in the games in Rio 2016, the Moroccan team faced setbacks with three losses and one draw.
In Tokyo 2020, however, the team demonstrated considerable improvement, reaching the semifinals and narrowly losing to Brazil, the world champions, by a single goal. The blind Atlas Lions then claimed a historic bronze medal by defeating China 4-0, a first for an African blind football team in the Paralympics.
The Moroccan squad’s achievements to date are the result of “years of hard work and dedication, particularly their unprecedented success in winning the African Cup five times in a row from 2013 to 2022,” MAP reported.
Despite this positive trajectory, the path to success at the upcoming event in Paris will entail overcoming significant challenges.
The head coach of the national team, Driss El Montaqi, acknowledged the challenging competitors in Group B and “the additional hurdle of adapting to the humidity and heat of Paris,” where they will have to play in matches scheduled in the middle of the day at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM.
Despite obstacles, El Montaqi affirmed the team’s determination to build upon its success at the Tokyo 2020 games to pursue the gold medal in Paris.