Football goes beyond the sporting sphere; it generally becomes a tool of soft power for a nation, capable of forging links with other geographically and culturally distant nations thanks to the common passion for this sport. Sport conveys beneficial virtues for society, bringing people together around common values such as love of the homeland, mutual aid and mutual respect. Additionally, this leads to a drastic drop in crime and disease within Moroccan society.
Over the years, the Kingdom has positioned itself as a haven for African football. Several African football federations have signed partnerships with Morocco to play there, their stadiums not being approved. The government has implemented football diplomacy, focusing all efforts on this discipline. Morocco returned to the African Union (AU) in January 2017 after 32 years of absence. Sport has become a vector of rapprochement with English-speaking African countries, closer to South Africa.
Today, football has become a lever for building ties with African countries. In 2015, Morocco signed sports partnerships with Tanzania and Rwanda, committing to finance the construction of several stadiums.
The Kingdom has also undertaken major infrastructure construction and renovation projects, including flexible stadiums, high-speed lines, roads, airport terminals and train stations. The Moroccan football federation also reinvests the money collected from African football federations when they come to play matches on national territory.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has established partnerships with 44 African federations, mainly sub-Saharan. These are two-year renewable contracts, adjusted according to local realities, including support in the creation of sports infrastructure, training of executives, hosting internships for national selections, training of referees and organization of friendly matches.
Morocco aspires to position itself as a continental leader in the field of football. The FRMF is realistic about the costs of these investments, but the realization of this proactive policy would allow it to position itself on the chessboard of sports diplomacy.
In this dynamic, several friendly matches between African national teams will take place at the Grand Stade de Marrakech from March 22 to 26, 2024, bringing together major continental football nations, including Nigeria, finalist of the last CAN 2023, and Ghana, another great African football nation.
Morocco’s organization of two major sporting events, such as the CAN 2025 and the 2030 World Cup, poses real challenges in terms of sporting and civil infrastructure, such as roads, highways, ports, airports, equipment. tourism and hospitality. In addition, the Kingdom benefits from a major advantage thanks to its proximity to Europe. The Morocco-Spain-Portugal tripartite cooperation portends strengthened political-economic relations between these three countries in the near future. Morocco is almost ready for CAN 2025 with six stadiums under renovation. The Casablanca large stadium project, which will be built between Mansouria and Benslimane, will strengthen the Kingdom’s capacities for the 2030 World Cup.
