Moroccan Breakdancer Youness El Mouaffaq Qualifies for 2024 Paris Olympics

Youness El Mouaffaq, 26, has breakdance ingrained in his body. From adolescence, this native of Fez began to develop a real interest in dance. A discipline he continues to practice. The young man cut his teeth within the breakdance club of the city. At each performance, he amazes the breakdance enthusiasts. His performances seduce several international spectators. Result: he is invited to participate in several international dance competitions. 2012 is the year of his first participation in an international competition which took place in Copenhagen, Denmark.

2017 is the consecration. The young Moroccan wins the silver medal in the hip-hop dance category at the 8th Francophonie Games in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He had performed alongside "04 Lkarwa", the Moroccan national breakdance team. This is the beginning of a beautiful epic. This success opens many doors for him. In 2018, he is designated as one of the 16 best dancers in the world after his participation in the Red Bull BC One World Champion in Zurich, Switzerland. He has participated in other competitions such as The Notorious IBER (Netherlands), Circle Industry Finals (Austria), Best Morocco Bboy (Morocco) and Battle of East (Estonia).

In 2019, he ranks 18th worldwide at the World Dance Sports Federation World Breaking Championship held in Nanjing, China. Youness El Mouaffaq has since settled in London where he plans to develop and live off his art. His dream of participating in the Olympic Games has just come true. He was appointed to represent Morocco at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Breakdance will make its first appearance in the Olympic arena following the decision taken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on December 7.

Youness El Mouaffaq welcomes this decision and says he is happy to be able to hoist the Moroccan flag in the Parisian sky. "It’s frankly an important step; not only in the fact that breakdance is now on the Olympic program, but that we have our Kingdom represented in these areas. I think this sheds a unique light on breakdance and will encourage so many amateur dancers in my country to bloom their talents..." he said in an interview with Morocco World News.