Rabat: Dutch public broadcaster NOS has highlighted the vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the role of the Mohammed VI Football Academy in the remarkable rise of Moroccan football on the international stage.
According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, the analysis published on Sunday reviewed the key decisions that enabled Morocco to establish itself as a major force in world football, tracing its rise from 95th to 6th place in the FIFA World Ranking over the past sixteen years. The Dutch media outlet noted that the turning point came in 2008, when His Majesty King Mohammed VI addressed participants at the National Sports Conference, calling for the development of a national sports strategy based on a responsible collective vision.
This royal roadmap paved the way for a comprehensive modernization strategy, notably marked by substantial investments in sports infrastructure and training. The broadcaster emphasized that the establishment of the Mohammed VI Football Academy in 2009 became one of the cornerstones of this transformation. The academy, which brings together the country’s most promising young talents in an environment combining sporting excellence with academic achievement, is described by NOS as a model that has fundamentally reshaped the development of young Moroccan footballers.
Quoted by NOS, former Dutch coach of Morocco’s U23 national team Mark Wotte described the academy as an “ultra-modern” facility, stressing that it laid the foundations for the sustainable development of Moroccan football. The Dutch broadcaster also recalled that several Moroccan internationals, including Nayef Aguerd, Azzedine Ounahi, and Youssef En-Nesyri, graduated from the academy, which has also contributed to the recent success of Morocco’s youth national teams, notably the country’s triumph at the latest FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
NOS concluded that Morocco’s co-hosting of the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal represents the culmination of a strategic project launched in 2008 under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, enabling Morocco to establish itself among the world’s leading football nations.