Morocco’s Olympic Disappointment Offset by Football Bronze Medal Success

Morocco did not shine at the Paris Olympics. In almost all disciplines, with the exception of athletics and football, Moroccan athletes did not perform, arousing the anger of Moroccans. The exceptional performance of the Olympic football team, which reached the semifinals for the first time in its history and then won the bronze, brought a smile back to Moroccans.

Many Moroccan activists have denounced on social media the disappointing performance of Moroccan athletes at the Paris Olympics, demanding the departure of the heads of the federations of various sports such as athletics, boxing, tennis and taekwondo who failed to enhance Morocco’s image at these Games.

These activists are calling on King Mohammed VI to appoint at the head of these federations personalities with the charisma and leadership of Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), in order to restore the luster of Moroccan sports. According to them, the success of the FRMF lies in its ability to convince dual-national players to join the Moroccan national team.

Moroccan activists are inviting the other federations to take the FRMF as an example. They hold the leaders of these federations responsible for Morocco’s poor harvest in Paris, becoming the country that won the fewest Olympic medals at the Arab and African level. Apart from the bronze won by the Atlas Lions, Soufiane El Bakkali retained his Olympic title in the 3000m steeplechase at these Games.