Morocco are making another statement on the world stage, facing France in the World Cup quarter-finals on Thursday with a place in the semi-finals at stake.
The Atlas Lions already made history at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, becoming the first African nation ever to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
Neil Ward, who served as director of technical operations at the Royal Moroccan Football Federation between 2020 and 2024, believes the journey is far from over.
“Morocco have the potential to be a powerhouse of world football,” said Ward, who previously served as chief executive of the Football Association of Wales Trust.
Ward was in Rabat when Morocco reached the semi-finals in 2022 and saw how the achievement “took over all the city right through until the early hours of the morning, with the king out celebrating as well.”
The progress Morocco have made is no accident, according to Simon Jennings, who oversaw youth development across the country between 2020 and 2024.
“This is not an accident,” Jennings said. “It’s a result of clear national ambition.”
That ambition has been driven from the very top, with King Mohammed VI providing sustained backing for significant investment in football infrastructure across the country.
Major funds have been directed into a state-of-the-art training facility, a national academy, regional training centres, stadium redevelopments, and thousands of amateur pitches nationwide.
Ward said the quality of those facilities sends an unmistakable message to players based in Europe: “So when you come in and see a training facility of this calibre, it shows you these people are serious and want to be successful.”
Morocco’s ability to attract diaspora talent has been equally central to their rise, with full-time scouts deployed across France, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
Nineteen of the 26 members of Morocco’s current World Cup squad were born outside the country, including Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who had previously represented France at youth level.
Jennings described how players with Moroccan roots are “embraced as Moroccans,” adding: “They are totally into being Moroccan. It’s a passion they have and a nationality they feel strongly about.”
The federation even met with Spain starlet Lamine Yamal and his family, given his Moroccan heritage, though ultimately he committed to Spain, with Ward noting “no stone is left unturned” in talent identification.
Chris van Puyvelde, technical director at the RMFF between 2022 and 2025, said the long-term target is an equal split between Moroccan-born players and those raised abroad by the time of the 2030 World Cup.
However, Van Puyvelde acknowledged that the “total organisation inside the country needs to be better” to sustain progress at the highest level of the game.
The pressure for results has been real, as current senior manager Mohamed Ouahbi discovered when his under-20 side failed to qualify for the African Nations Cup in 2023, prompting difficult conversations with federation leadership.
With renewed support, Ouahbi’s under-20 side went on to win the Under-20 World Cup in 2025, earning him promotion to the senior role after Walid Regragui resigned in difficult circumstances.
Morocco have the third-youngest squad at the tournament, with their starters averaging just 26 years and 126 days, and Van Puyvelde believes the foundations being laid will deliver rewards for years to come.
“Once you get a little bit of oxygen, like Morocco did in Qatar, you see this oxygen is spreading very fast,” he said. “All over the country.”
