Morocco’s Olympic Heroes Return Home: El Bakkali and Football Team Celebrated After Paris Success

Soufiane El Bakkali and his coach Karim Talmasani, some players of the Moroccan Olympic team - most having directly joined their clubs in Europe -, as well as the technical staff led by coach Tarik Sektioui, were welcomed in grand style on Saturday evening at the Rabat-Salé international airport.

Upon disembarking, Tarik Sektioui expressed his joy and pride in winning the bronze medal at the Paris Olympic Games. "I dedicate this bronze medal to King Mohammed VI and I am very happy with the brilliance we have achieved at the Olympic Games," he told the press. And to continue: "It is a historic medal, obtained thanks to the great efforts of the federation, all the staff, and the players for their national spirit, with the help of the public whom I consider the best in the world. National football is experiencing a brilliance and continuity, and we hope that this will continue on this momentum during world events, thanks to the guidelines of King Mohammed VI."

With this feat, Morocco becomes the first Arab country to win a medal in football at the Olympic Games and the fourth African country after Nigeria and Cameroon who won gold and Ghana who won bronze. Morocco thus wins its first medal in a team sport and its 26th medal at the Olympic Games, across all disciplines.

For his part, Soufiane El Bakkali thanked the Moroccan supporters and the Athletics Federation for their constant support. The runner offered Morocco its first medal at the Paris Olympic Games by winning the gold medal in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 08:06.05, with the contribution of Mohamed Tindouft who finished the race in 12th place. El Bakkali thus retains his Olympic title, becoming the first