Infantino Praises Morocco as ‘Global Football Power’

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) officially unveiled on Monday the shortlist of five finalists nominees in each of the men’s categories at CAF Awards 2024, including Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi, shortlisted for African Player of the Year.

In addition to Moroccan and French club Paris Saint-Germain’s right-back, other contenders for the prestigious African Player of the Year award include Ivorian Simon Adingra (Brighton and Hove Albion), Serhou Guirassy (Guinea/Borussia Dortmund), Ademola Lookman (Nigeria/Atalanta) and Ronwen Williams (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns).

In the “Young Player of the Year” category, Moroccan international Eliesse Ben Seghir, who plays for French club AS Monaco, is in the running alongside Karim Konaté (Côte d’Ivoire/Salzburg), Oumar Diakité (Côte d’Ivoire/Reims), Yankuba Minteh (Gambia/Brighton and Hove Albion) and Lamine Camara (Senegal/AS Monaco).

As for the Club of the Year category, the list of five finalists includes Berkane Renaissance alongside South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, Egypt’s Al Ahly and Zamalek as well as Espérance Sportive de Tunis.

The prestigious CAF Awards 2024 ceremony will take place in Marrakech on December 16.

Interior Minister, Abdelouafi Laftit, chaired, here Thursday, an extended meeting dedicated to examining the state of progress of the city’s preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
This meeting, attended by Royal Moroccan Football Federation’s (FRMF) President, Fouzi Lekjaa, and Wali of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region, Mohamed Yacoubi, brought together the different stakeholders in the preparation process.

Speaking on the occasion, Laftit stressed the importance of an all-out mobilization in order to guarantee the successful organization of the 2030 World Cup in Morocco, as well as the Africa Cup of Nations (Morocco-2025), which the Kingdom will host prior to this global event.

In this respect, he called on the stakeholders to redouble their efforts and mobilize all the financial and human resources needed to accelerate the pace of preparations, noting the importance of the success of the next stage, namely the 2025 AFCON, with a view to boosting trust in moving forward with the process of preparing to host other sporting events.

Laftit also noted Rabat’s central role as the Kingdom’s capital and host city to several events before the 2030 World Cup, stressing that the city must be ready starting next year.

For his part, Lekjaa stated that the development trajectory initiated by His Majesty King Mohammed VI over the last 25 years throughout the Kingdom will make Morocco a privileged destination for the organization of exceptional continental or world events, notably 2025 AFCON.

In a statement to the press following the meeting, he highlighted Rabat’s centrality for the 2030 World Cup, especially as it will host the 2025 AFCON matches, including those of the national soccer team.

The Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex, which will be ready by the end of this year with a capacity of 65,000 spectators, will be one of the stadiums qualified to host the World Cup semi-finals, he added, the aim being for the Kingdom of Morocco to organize an “exceptional World Cup.”

The meeting was marked by presentations by various stakeholders, highlighting development and infrastructure projects designed to enable Moroccan cities, including Rabat, to meet FIFA’s requirements and standards, particularly in terms of stadiums, training sites, transport and mobility, accommodation and sustainable development.

Mechanisms for the integrated management of projects scheduled as part of these preparations were also presented, with a view to reinforcing the monitoring, control and timely implementation of projects.

MAP: 4 July 2024

Moroccan stadiums will host 9 international football matches, from June 5 to 11, as part of the third and fourth rounds of the 2026 FIFA World Cup African qualifiers.

In doing so, the Kingdom has once again confirmed its position as the preferred destination for a number of African football teams to play their qualifying matches, their stadiums having been deemed non-compliant by the FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

In fact, eight African teams have decided to stage their matches at home in Morocco, given the high quality of the Kingdom’s sports infrastructure, logistical facilities and international-standard hotel accommodation. They are Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, The Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe, Djibouti, Guinea, Chad and Seychelles.

In these qualifying matches, the Moroccan national team will face its Zambian counterpart (Group E) at the Grand Stadium of Agadir next Friday (8:00 pm).

Preparations in the health sector for the 2030 World Cup (Morocco-Spain-Portugal) were the focus of talks on Monday in Geneva between Morocco’s Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khalid Ait Taleb, and his Spanish counterpart, Mónica García Gómez.

The talks took place on the sidelines of the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA77) and focused on joint preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Among the issues discussed were potential health challenges during the global sporting event and the importance of prior coordination to ensure health and emergency services readiness.

Building a strong health system capable of dealing with any emergency is a key factor in ensuring the success of this major sporting event, Ait Taleb said, adding that expertise and experience sharing between the three countries will be “crucial to delivering a safe and comfortable experience for fans and sports teams.”

The official also emphasized the importance of reinforcing the host cities’ health infrastructure and developing joint training programs for health personnel to prepare them to deal with any health emergencies and provide all the necessary health conditions and capacities to successfully organize this global sporting event.

For her part, Spain’s Minister of Health pointed out that “the coordination between Spain, Morocco, and Portugal in the field of health is an important step towards the organization of a safe and integrated world event, through the development of effective health strategies to offer the best services to fans and athletes alike.”
She also expressed her country’s “full readiness to cooperate with Morocco to ensure a safe and successful world sporting event,” describing the partnership between the two countries as “a solid basis for achieving the desired results.”
The talks also covered the implementation of the joint agreement signed in Rabat on February 2nd, 2023, at the 12th session of the Morocco-Spain high-level meeting.
The two ministers also stressed the importance of pursuing the implementation of the provisions of this agreement to make the most of bilateral cooperation, help improve the quality of healthcare services, and ensure the highest standards of primary healthcare in both countries.

Projects linked to the organization by Morocco, alongside Spain and Portugal, of the 2030 World Cup have been launched in all sectors, in accordance with the High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, said, on Thursday in Rabat, Minister Delegate in charge of the Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa.

Morocco will endeavor to ensure the success of this major event, Lekjaa told the press at the end of an enlarged meeting, held as part of the preparations for the 2030 World Cup.

It was devoted to the coordination between all the ministerial departments concerned, the setting up of a unified system of joint action and the implementation of an integrated roadmap, based on the proper fulfillment of commitments, the convergence of initiatives and interventions and the harmonization of their programming, within the framework of the complementary roles of the various stakeholders, so as to guarantee the necessary conditions and means enabling the Kingdom to succeed in the challenge of co-hosting this global sporting event with Spain and Portugal.

This edition will be, as intended by His Majesty the King, the best in the history of this event, added Lekjaa, noting that this enlarged meeting is part of a series of similar ones held since the announcement by the Sovereign to the Moroccan people of the good news of the organization by Morocco of the 2030 World Cup jointly with Spain and Portugal.

The Minister noted that the meeting was an opportunity to take stock of the work accomplished to date and to discuss the actions to be taken as soon as possible, stressing that the joint bid will be presented before the end of July and will be voted on by FIFA before the end of the year.
 

 In a strategic move aiming to harness talent and expertise, the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB, Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond) has appointed Moroccan coach Adil Ramzi as the new head coach of the Dutch Under-18 team. The announcement was made on Monday, marking a significant development in Dutch football management.

Ramzi, a former Moroccan international, is set to commence his tenure on July 1st, as confirmed by the KNVB through their official statement on the social platform X. Expressing his gratitude and excitement for the opportunity, Ramzi stated, “I am proud to have received the necessary trust to work with the greatest talents of the Netherlands,” underscoring his commitment to the role.

Prior to this appointment, Ramzi had honed his coaching skills within the Dutch football landscape, notably serving as an assistant coach for the A team at PSV Eindhoven under the guidance of Mark Van Bommel. Additionally, he held the position of coach for the B team, demonstrating his multifaceted approach to coaching and player development.

Ramzi’s journey in football leadership also led him briefly to Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca, where he assumed managerial responsibilities before his departure in December 2023.

The selection of Ramzi reflects KNVB’s strategic vision to diversify coaching staff and tap into international talent pools. With his wealth of experience and expertise, Ramzi is poised to play a pivotal role in nurturing the next generation of Dutch football stars.