Lille’s Rising Star Igamane Shines Despite Name Mix-up

"In Morocco, at the administration, they forgot to put an "A" in my last name. I never had time to correct it, so it remained "Igmane"," explained the 22-year-old striker during his official presentation at Lille on Friday, upon his return from the national team.

The Moroccan says he is honored to lead the Lille attack alongside French international Olivier Giroud. "Olivier Giroud is a player I’ve been watching since I was little when he played at Arsenal. Everyone knows him, he’s played at the highest level and I’m going to learn a lot from him. I hope that together we will bring a lot to the club," said the Atlas Lion.

"It is essential for an ambitious club to have two competitive players in this position," Bruno Genesio said this week at his pre-match press conference against Toulouse, scheduled for this Sunday at 3pm. And he added: "This allows us, regardless of the players who start, to have a performing team at the start of each match." The Ligue 1 club will play more than 20 matches over the next three months, BFMTV recalls.

For his part, Hamza Igamane has had a good start to the season. Scoring a brace against Lorient (7-1) on August 30, after only 45 minutes of play, the young player has also scored two goals and provided an assist for the national team, including one against Zambia on Monday in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the other against Niger, three days earlier.