Having recently qualified for their sixth FIFA World Cup, Morocco has continually proven itself to be a leading African nation in developing talent.
With a thriving domestic league filled with clubs regarded as continental heavyweights and a reputation for unearthing dependable defenders, creative midfielders and stylish forwards, it is no exaggeration to say that Morocco is a hotbed of talent.
It was in this football-loving country that FIFA held a June workshop devoted to the Talent Development Scheme (TDS), which was launched in February 2020 by Arsene Wenger, the FIFA Chief of Global Development.
More than 50 development specialists and regional technical advisers attended the Mohammed VI Football Academy to discuss talent development strategies, share best practice, and prepare the ground for the rest of FIFA’s member associations to support the scheme.
The Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) is devoting all its energy to these goals, as its president, Fouzi Lekjaa, made clear in his opening speech at the seminar:
“The development of football in Morocco is founded on a triangular approach that should form the basis of the development of any system: facilities, talent and qualified personnel. Along with my colleagues at the FRMF, I am convinced that those three fundamentals have to be in place for the process to develop as it should.”
The FRMF is delivering on its promises, focusing first of all on facilities both nationally and locally. A high point in its development plans came with the 2019 opening of the Mohammed VI Football Academy, which covers 30 hectares and boasts the latest facilities and equipment – all of it compliant with FIFA standards. The jewel in the crown of Moroccan football, it is one of the biggest and highest-achieving sports academies in the world.
In the meantime, the Moroccan authorities have also been developing local facilities, as Lekjaa revealed via FIFA:
“We have a team overseeing development across the country’s 12 regions, starting with talent detection, with young players attending club academies. That’s why we’ve made such a big effort to make sure clubs have their own academies.
“The regional academies are the same as the national academy, just smaller. The best players from the regions go to the centre of excellence, which has coaching and medical staff who work with young players spotted in grassroots football and take them up to the next level. That’s the way our development cycle is designed. It starts with talent detection at grassroots level, with that talent then channelling into the clubs, the regional academy and on to the national centre of excellence.”
In conjunction with the development of facilities and as part of the talent detection process, the FRMF is also in schools, trying to close the net as tight as it can and make sure that no potentially gifted individuals slip through it. “We’ve embarked on a sports studies programme with the Ministry of National Education to create school structures across the country that can accommodate boys and girls who play football all the time, offering them a timetable adapted to every level of schooling,” added Lekjaa.
“Morocco is a young society and our young people have raw talent,” continued the FRMF president, who also said that the Moroccan climate is ideal for playing football.
“We are trying to deliver maximum added value in footballing terms so that we can take that raw talent at the age of ten and allow them to express it and raise their game. The idea is to prepare them for life as professional players and for them to kick on and join clubs.”
As a result, Morocco is leading the way with the Talent Development Scheme, setting an example for others to follow.
