Morocco’s Hakimi Urges Young Dual-Nationals to Follow Atlas Lions’ Success

"This medal means a lot after the World Cup, where we made history and opened many doors, both in our country and for other countries. [...] We made Africans believe that we too can succeed. This means a lot for our country and for the next generation," said Achraf Hakimi after Morocco’s crushing victory over Egypt (6-0) in the third-place match of the Paris Olympic Games. According to the Paris Saint-Germain right-back, the exploits achieved by Moroccan footballers in recent years have a huge impact on young Moroccan footballers. "There are young people playing in our country who have the right to two nationalities. However, when they see these things happening in Morocco, everyone says they have to choose Morocco to help us make this country greater," added the 25-year-old player, advising these young people to prefer the colors of the Moroccan flag to those of other nationalities.

The coach of the Moroccan Olympic team, Tarik Sektioui, shares Hakimi’s joy. "This fills all Moroccans with pride. It shows that football is evolving in the right direction and that we are making good progress. Moroccan football aspires to become a world power," he said. Villarreal FC right winger Ilias Akhomach also makes no secret of his happiness: "This is Morocco. We have a great team, top players and incredible talent." He also congratulated his teammate Soufiane Rahimi, the top scorer of the men’s Olympic football tournament in Paris-2024 with eight goals: "Rahimi is great, he’s exceptional. I played with him in other competitions. I knew what he was capable of and we had a very good understanding between us during these Games. He had an excellent tournament."

Akhomach does not hesitate to compare Morocco to Brazil, considered the country of football: "If you go to any street in Morocco, you’ll see people playing football. It reminds me a lot of Brazil, what you see in the videos. It’s really incredible and we have that in us."