CAN 2025 in Morocco: Human Rights Watch denounces the heavy social toll of the celebration

This is the downside that the stadium spotlights can no longer conceal. As Morocco prepares to vibrate to the rhythm of football from December 21st, the social reality of the country is catching up with the festivities. Vincent Sima Olé, coordinator at Human Rights Watch (HRW), highlights an alarming situation: the organization of the tournament is being done at the direct expense of the citizens. The assessment is brutal: at least three deaths, hundreds of injured and a thousand people still imprisoned, including 330 children, following the demonstrations of the "GenZ 212" movement launched at the end of September.

This social tug-of-war marks the end of the blind acceptance of major sporting events. The billions swallowed up in infrastructure, particularly the future grand stadium in Casablanca for the 2030 World Cup, are not going down well with a population demanding decent public services. The protesters’ slogan, "We want hospitals, not stadiums," sounds like a disavowal of a policy where health spending is capped at 2.3% of GDP, far from international standards. The authorities’ response has been tough: HRW has documented scenes of police vehicles charging at crowds in Oujda and sentences of up to fifteen years in prison.

Faced with this impasse, the NGO is calling for a paradigm shift for the future. It summons the CAF and FIFA to break their silence, likened to a blank check. While Patrice Motsepe, the boss of African football, promises to "organize the most successful CAN in history," HRW recalls that success cannot be measured solely by revenue, but must include respect for human rights. The letters sent in October to the authorities have remained unanswered, but the message is clear: football can no longer be a lawless zone.