Jakarta, CNNIIndonesia —
Morocco leaving historical fairy tales in Qatar 2022 World Cup as a team from Africa that reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup. A number of secrets are revealed, the ingredients for success are reviewed.
One of them, Morocco’s success in Qatar is considered inseparable from the early childhood development factor that Morocco has achieved over the past decade. This is linked to the existence of a “factory” called the Mohamed VI Football Academy.
In 2010, the Moroccan government built an ambitious project by creating a football academy which recruited young people from 8 to 15 years old. The project is funded by the government to the tune of 3 million US dollars or the equivalent of 202 billion rupees. Aid budget disbursed annually in a fantastic amount.
The football academy located in the city of Sale, Rabat has become the home of players who play in Qatar, leading Morocco to the top four in the tournament every four years.
The Mohamed VI Football Academy threw the names Azzedine Ounahi, Nayef Aguerd, Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti, to Youssef En-Nesyri, the Moroccan hero when he knocked out Portugal in the quarter-finals.
The creation of the Moroccan Football Academy of Mohamed VI was initiated when Morocco experienced a failure of achievement, having never been able to reach the World Cup since 1998.
The academy occupies over 17 hectares of land and has dormitories, restaurants, clinics, entertainment halls, swimming pools, classrooms and nine courts including one indoor.
A method of learning, the academy program combines on-the-job training with coursework. Most students leave the academy with a bachelor’s degree.
“The skill has always been there in Morocco, but proper training of talent at a younger age is lacking,” said academy coach Tarik El Khazri who coached Youssef En-Nesyri.
He added: “We have players from all over Morocco and from different social groups, talent is the main criterion.”
The same was conveyed by Belmahdi Abdellatif, another academy coach. He said around 90% of his graduates have a future as a professional footballer. and a number of top clubs in Europe use their services.
“Right now, after the success of the Moroccan national team at the 2022 World Cup, we are inundated with applicants,” Khazri said.
The existence of the Mohamed VI Football Academy paid off in the 2022 World Cup. Even though they didn’t win the title, Morocco are quite famous as a killer of giants.
The Atlas Lions managed to draw with Croatia and then beat Belgium in the group stage. After beating Canada, Hakimi cs then proved they weren’t just adding color to the 2022 World Cup when they conquered Spain and Portugal in the knockout stage.
“We are sure that in the next 15 years, an African country will win the World Cup,” said Morocco coach Walid Reragugui.
(ain/ptr)
“Social media fanatic. Problem solver. Bacon ninja. Communicator. Alcohol evangelist.”
