Morocco’s World Cup heroics

THERE were many surprises and success stories at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. The eventual winners, the Albiceste of Argentina, bowed to the Al-Suqour Al-Khodhur, the Saudi Arabia team, during the group stages, while Japan stunned the star-studded German machine. But it was the Atlas Lions of Morocco, making their sixth appearance at the global fiesta, that  eventually told the most remarkable story and wrote the most memorable history at Qatar 2022. Previously, Morocco had won the 1976 African Cup of Nations, two African Nations Championships, and a FIFA Arab Cup. The Atlas Lions had made history in 1986 when they became the first African national team to top a group at the World Cup and the first to reach the knockout stages. But Qatar proved to be a much more different, exciting story altogether.

The Atlas Lions held Croatia to a goalless draw, stunned Canada 2-1 and humbled Belgium, ranked by FIFA as world number 2 prior to the tournament, in a sensational 2-0 victory that qualified them for the knockout stage for the second time in their history. They then wowed the world by eliminating former Euros and World Cup winners, Spain, after a match that had the whole world on edge. They upset their northern neighbours in a 3-0 win via penalties, becoming the fourth African nation and the first Arab nation to qualify for the knockout stage in a World Cup competition. Naturally, there were wild jubilations around the world as crowds waved Moroccan flags and savoured the victory. But the Lions had more up their sleeves: they bundled out ex-European champions Portugal and ended the Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup dream.

As Ronaldo, one of the greatest players to have ever kicked a football, wrote his World Cup epitaph, moving millions to tears, the streets of Rabat, Casablanca, Paris, Molenbeek, Abuja, Cairo, London, went berserk with joy. Africa and the Arab world had made a sensational statement. Morocco became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of a FIFA World Cup and the third ever semi-finalist not from UEFA or CONMEBOL, after the United States in 1930 and South Korea in 2002. And although the Atlas Lions crumbled against Croatia during the third-place match, they had already made history and written their names in gold as the underdogs who made mincemeat of champions. As Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said during the tournament: “No voice is louder than Morocco’s at the World Cup!”

To be sure, much of the success is due to the iconic coach Walid Regragui. Appointed the manager of the team only on  August 31 this year, he was body-shamed  as an “avocado head” by critics in a mean reference to his baldness. However, he shamed them with his team’s outstanding performance. Indeed, until the Atlas Lions faced Les Bleus of France in the semi-final play-off, they had known no defeat, and had in fact conceded no goal except the own goal against Canada. Regragui had recalled players axed from the national team by his predecessor Vahid Halilhodzi and instilled in the team a winning mentality. Hear him: “The guy who comes here to play three games in the World Cup and have fun can’t come with me. The message was spread around my team, and in my country. Then it reached the continent. Now, I think the world is with Morocco.”

Besides, the Atlas Lions’ story is a study in the value of vision and investment in sports. The country had witnessed a football revolution backed by King Mohammed VI for over a decade. The Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) had in 2009 inaugurated its national football academy, the Mohammed VI Football Academy, the facility that has thrown up stars such as Nayef Aguerd and Youssef En-Nesryi. Morocco has the Mohammed VI Complex in Maamoura covering almost 30 hectares with an overall investment of $65.4 million. Built over a period of three years, it is the facility used by all the national teams. It is no secret that the training complex houses four five-star hotels and eight FIFA standard pitches, one of which is indoor in a climate-controlled building. It is thus instructive that for the first time in history, Moroccan clubs are the holders of the men’s and women’s African Champions League titles as well as the men’s Confederations Cup winners. The Atlas Lions are the current African Nations Championship (CHAN) kings. The women’s team emerged the runners-up in the Women’s African Cup of Nations earlier this year.

Nigeria must learn from Morocco’s investment in sports. The point must be restated that Morocco’s heroes’ performance at Qatar 2022 is not a product of chance but the end result of painstaking efforts over time to achieve a grand objective. It had invested huge resources in the required facilities and gone to great lengths to improve the technical abilities and depth of its players. Sadly, in Nigeria, quite the opposite obtains: the experience has always been about preparing late and haphazardly for sporting events.  It is therefore important to learn from the Moroccan example and start devoting resources and expertise to sports and sports organisations. If the country is desirous of a massive turnaround in its fortunes at sporting competitions, it must lay the foundation for it.

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