Morocco FA President Explains Controversial Coach Sacking Before World Cup Success

"I am constantly observing the evolution of the national teams at all age levels, and despite their qualification for the World Cup, the atmosphere within the Moroccan national team was not healthy three months before the World Cup and a change was necessary, knowing that I respect the logic and philosophy of Vahid Halilhodžić, but the interest of Morocco and the Moroccans comes before everything else," explained Fouzi Lekjaâ in an interview with the Egyptian channel On Time. The Franco-Bosnian technician was replaced by the Moroccan Walid Regragui, who is still in office. Why this choice? "We are convinced that Walid Regragui has the characteristics that were lacking in the Moroccan team, in particular to create a positive atmosphere and avoid all negative aspects, while highlighting the quality of the players," he justified. According to the boss of Moroccan football, the dismissal of coach Vahid is explained by the lack of such an atmosphere. There was a negative atmosphere that "did not correspond to our common aspirations," Lekjaâ stressed.

Regarding the historic run of the Atlas Lions at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Lekjaâ declared: "Regardless of the result obtained, what is important to me is to break the psychological barrier that has hindered African teams for many years." The World Cup match he remembers is the match between Morocco and Spain. "All the matches moved all the Moroccans, Arabs and Africans, but the match against Spain, especially the penalty shootout, was special compared to the other matches and the fact of depriving the Spanish team, which most observers thought were the favorites, made this match so. [...] This exploit paves the way, in my opinion, for African and Arab teams to win the World Cup in the near future, and I would be happy to see an Arab team win the World Cup on Moroccan soil during the 2030 World Cup." According to the FRMF boss, all Arab teams, with the capacities and possibilities they have shown, especially those with a tradition with the World Cup, including Morocco, are qualified to win the 2030 World Cup that Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.

For Lekjaâ, the organization of this World Cup is a challenge for two united continents. "The joint organization goes far beyond the simple fact of organizing and distributing the matches, and we all agree to talk about a single organization. [...] This organization is a challenge for two united continents, and we aspire to organize the World Cup without geographical boundaries, because the goal is to revive the common civilization between the two shores and to convey a message to the world that Africans and Europeans can work together and avoid the unilateral vision of things," he said.