Morocco’s Youth Soccer Revolution: Atlas Lions Roar into U20 World Cup Final

The qualification of the Atlas Lions to the final of the U-20 World Cup in Chile is not a coincidence, but the culmination of a well-thought-out football development strategy based on solid academies, clear programs, continuous training, and technical and administrative supervision, said Fathi Jamal in an interview published on the FIFA website. He notes that significant and tangible progress is being made in the development of football in Morocco, at all levels, thanks to the FRMF’s work strategy.

This includes the creation of academies, particularly the Mohammed VI Academy, and the implementation of the national program in 14 training clubs that promote homogeneity in monitoring, he cited, specifying that four federal technical centers, in Salé, Casablanca, Benguérir and Laâyoune, show that mass and quality training is taken seriously. The historic feat of the U20 Atlas Lions is also explained by the good functioning of the adopted method: a mix of players from the national academies and the diaspora, psychological work, adapted tactics, a deep bench, all of which have contributed to correcting past mistakes, adds Jamal.

Comparing the players of 2005 who had reached the semi-finals of the U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands under him to those of 2025, he notes that they all have the same passion for the jersey and the same sincerity in the desire for success. The only apparent difference: "the 2005 generation sometimes lacked maturity and support," says Jamal. To support his point, he mentions in particular ill-advised career choices, uncontrolled media influence, and the lack of structure in some clubs that had limited the development of many talents.