Moroccan Runner Avoids Deportation, Secures Job with French Rugby Club

At 28 years old, France has just offered him the opportunity of a lifetime, thanks to a generous man who appreciated the athlete’s journey by signing him an employment contract, reports Le Populaire. Upon hearing this good news, he rejoiced and thanked "Habib Ajjouni, his ’coach and spiritual father’, as well as Régis Dumange, the magnanimous entrepreneur who reached out to him and appointed him as an educational and logistics assistant at the USON Nevers Rugby association". "Nièvre has opened its arms to me, I will not leave it," declared the marathoner, who arrived in this town in France in 2018.

Proud to be able to count on his athlete, who had the ninth best performance of the year over 5,000 meters, the seventh best time over the half marathon, and the sixteenth over the marathon, coach Habib Ajjouni cannot digest the "crude words" of the French administration towards the marathoner Abdelilah El Maimouni. For the French administration, his protégé is "a local celebrity", despite this edifying career. "I had the feeling that we were disrespecting Abdelilah. But we quickly understood what he was being accused of," said the coach who houses and takes care of the young Moroccan prodigy. As for his daughters, they ensure his learning of the French language.

For his part, Régis Dumange, the promoter of Textilot (about 600 employees), a ready-to-wear company, and president of USON Nevers Rugby (Pro D2), was seduced by the young Moroccan. Thanks to his offer, Abdelilah El Maimouni can stay in France. "He just saved my career. Mr. Dumange trusts me, so the least I can do is live up to it," promised Habib Ajjouni, who already dreams of world competitions. "Mr. Dumange trusts me, so the least I can do is live up to it. Triumphing was a way to thank him," added this former Moroccan mason. For his part, Régis Dumange does not regret having supported the young star. "This boy is a gem. We’re going to make a place for him among us," the philanthropist, a supporter of local athletes, had announced.