From AFCON to World Cup 2026: How Morocco became a football powerhouse

Morocco’s success is built on an effective strategy, but there has been some upheaval in the run-up to the World Cup.

In a couple of decades, Morocco went from being regularly eliminated in the group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and failing to qualify for several successive World Cups to sitting inside the top 10 of the FIFA men’s rankings, reaching the semifinals at the Qatar World Cup in 2022 and being considered credible contenders for the sport’s biggest tournament this summer.

Even more impressive is that the Atlas Lions’ success is not limited to the senior men’s national team but has been spread across every age group and category.

Morocco are currently the 2025 AFCON champions, albeit after Senegal were stripped of the title. They were also 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) finalists, 2025 FIFA Arab Cup champions, 2025 African Nations Championship (CHAN) champions, 2025 U-20 FIFA World Cup champions, 2025 U-17 AFCON champions, 2024 Olympic men’s bronze medallists and 2024 Futsal AFCON champions.

There is no magic formula behind the success. A source close to the Royal Moroccan Football Federation who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak with the media explained that the country’s success rests on three pillars: good governance, financial investment and competent human resources.

“King Mohammed VI laid out this strategy during the Skhirat Sports Conference in 2008, which marked the beginning of a long-term national project for football development,” he said.

“The first pillar was governance reform, including the creation of a national department for financial control, which helped clean up and professionalise the financial structure of Moroccan football.

“This was followed by massive investment in infrastructure at every level of the game. For instance, through cooperation with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and the Moroccan government, we built thousands of local football pitches called ‘proximity fields’. These are open and accessible to everyone, serving mass participation across the country.”

In addition to that public infrastructure, Morocco built the Mohammed VI complex and academy in Maamoura, just outside Rabat. Replete with perfectly manicured pitches, the latest physical therapy equipment and an on-site hotel, the complex has been compared to the finest technical centres in world football, including France’s Clairefontaine.

The academy has produced top talent, including several starters for the senior men’s squad – among them Olympique de Marseille’s Nayef Aguerd