The whole world is talking about the impressive Moroccan national team at the World Cup in Qatar, but few has wondered how did this football team has managed to go this far in the tournament. Some has asked if there is a “magic recipe” for this success.
A developing country looking to develop football:
The correlation between economic development and football performance is very strong, shows a study conducted by sports economists – Stefan Szymanski and Melanie Krauze – over the period 1950-2014. Their conclusion: countries with a long experience of football, a very good level of development and very populated have, in fact, significant expertise and financial means to train the talents detected. They are in the best position to win the competition. Through this composite portrait, we immediately recognize the great football nations of Europe and South America. To join these elites, it is therefore necessary to combine all these characteristics.
Morocco, with an economy in full transformation for the last 20 years, has worked hard to emerge, developing an industry for export. And logically, the football took advantage of it. The colossal project Mohammed VI Academy (AMF) based in Salé/Rabat, which is a football-training center of excellence and capable of competing with European equivalents, is a testament to this.
The AMF offered itself an ultra-modern center, which has nothing to envy to the infrastructures of the biggest European clubs. Its cost, thirteen million euros, is a heavy investment in terms of Morocco’s level of development. The AMF was created in 2009 to train future players for the national team. In part, it has fulfilled its mission this year; several of the players present in Qatar come from this school.
Furthermore, eleven (11) of the Twenty six (26) Atlas Lions Squad participating at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, come from the Moroccan National League, among them four (4) Mohammed VI Academy players : Nayef Aguerd (West Ham-UK), Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla-Spain), Ahmed Reda Taghnaouti (Widad Casablanca-Morocco) and Azzedine Ounahi (Angers-France), who completely charmed Luis Enrique.
The context of the creation of Mohammed VI Academy:
After years of failing in national football at all levels, His Majesty King Mohammed VI wanted to understand why football had come to such difficulties. That is to say not qualifying for the World Cup for a long time, not being able to pass the first round of the African Cups and the non-qualification of young people in African and especially world competitions. Also the results that were missing at the level of the African Champions Leagues. Therefore, the conclusion was that Morocco had lost a bit of the thread of training young people who were the strength of Moroccan football.
Then, His Majesty King Mohammed VI took the decision to build the AMF training-center in an 18-hectare, near to the capital Rabat. The AMF acquires equipment of all kinds and has everything to help players to excel.
The AMF comprises an:
- Administrative pole:
An office platform for the managers and trainers of the center. The administrative center also includes a multipurpose room with one hundred seats for organizing seminars, conferences or even screenings.
- Accommodation division:
An essential place for community life, the Accommodation division includes:
• swimming pool ;
• 2 dormitories;
• 30 double rooms;
• 4 single rooms;
• 1 catering area, with a refectory and a kitchen provided for around a hundred people;
• 1 relaxation area with televisions, internet access;
• 1 gaming room.
- Sports medicine center:
Modern and functional, the Sports Medicine Center houses:
• 1 space reserved for medical consultation;
• 1 cell equipped with physiotherapy;
• 1 balneotherapy pool.
• 1 sauna;
• 2 hot tubs;
• 1 room equipped with bodybuilding of 205 m²
• 4 changing rooms.
- Pedagogical pole:
In accordance with the standards and criteria required by the specifications of the Ministry of National Education, the Pedagogical Center is made up of:
- 10 classrooms including;
• 1 computer room also dedicated to language learning;
• 1 science laboratory;
• 1 room reserved for teachers;
• 1 pedagogical adviser's office
• 1 management office.
- Technical pole:
The Academy has playing areas that reproduce, according to international quality standards, all the surfaces that a football player may encounter during his career. It thus has:
• 2 football pitches of 105m*68m in latest generation synthetic turf (these pitches have
been labeled "2 stars" by FIFA)
• 2 football pitches of 105m*68m in natural grass
• 1 half-pitch of 48m*48m in covered and lighted synthetic turf;
• 1 half natural goalkeeper training pitch;
• 1 sand training square for goalkeepers;
• 1 synthetic training square for motor skills and coordination exercises.
Above all this, the academy offers a lot to these young players. In addition to football work and perseverance to achieve success, each one benefits from education and training at all levels in order to represent Morocco in the best way when he becomes professional, and then in international competitions such as the World Cup, which is currently held in Qatar.
- The Mohammed VI Football Academy (AMF) stars:
This jewel of the national infrastructure has trained the elite of the current national football team.
• Yousef En-Nesyri: arrived at the AMF at only 12 years old, the first who succeeded to send Africa to the semi-finals of the World Cup.
• Azzedine Ounahi: started at the Moroccan club of Raja Casablanca at the age of 10 years old and joined the academy when he was 15 years old before flying to the French club of Angers.
• Nayef Aguerd: formed and trained at the AMF, passed by the FUS (Morocco) under Walid Regragui, before flying to France (Dijon then Rennes) and finally to West Ham (England).
• Ahmed Reda Taghnaouti: started at the academy in 2014 before joining the Moroccan Club of Widad Casablanca where he is the first goalkeeper.
The success of this national team and its crazy rise is therefore the result of the "Made in Morocco" training, which produces quality players capable of competing with, and in this case, outclassing players from the best training centers in Europe.
The 11 players from the Moroccan League #Botola_Pro
it is worth noting that the current Moroccan squad (26 players) participating in the World Cup 2022 in Qatar is reinforced by 11 players who are the "product" of the Moroccan Botola_Pro.
these are :
1- Yassine Bounou
2- Ahmed Reda Taghnaouti
3- Naif Aguerd
4- Jaouad Yamiq
5- Achraf Dari
6- Badr Banoun
7- Yahia Attiat allah
8- Azzeddine Ounahi
9- Yahia Jebrane
10- Abderazek Hamdellah
11- Youssef En-Nesyri.
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