Until late 2022, Morocco was not the most prominent African footballing nation when it came to FIFA World Cups.
In less than a year, the script has changed.
In its maiden attempt, Morocco created history at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, becoming the first Arab nation to make the competition’s knockouts.
This feat came just eight months after Morocco finished fourth at the FIFA Men’s World Cup 2022, becoming the first African and Arab nation to enter the semifinal of the quadrennial event.
At the Women’s World Cup, France eliminated the Atlas Lionesses (Morocco) in the pre-quarterfinal by a 0-4 scoreline.
Morocco coach Reynald Pedros shakes hands with Nesryne El Chad after the Morocco was knocked out of the World Cup. | Photo Credit: REUTERS/Carl Recine
The loss must sting, but Morocco’s head coach Reynald Pedros is upbeat about the performance.
“Being in a World Cup last 16 for Morocco is exceptional. It has been a remarkable adventure,” said Pedros.
“I sincerely believe that getting to the last 16 with this team, for the first time, is the equivalent of the guys getting to the semifinals. It is beyond fantastic. We only started building this team three years ago. There are so many things that make us proud even though we have been knocked out.”
How the women’s stirring campaign unfolded is very different from how it started.
‘You belong to the kitchen’
Bahya El Yahmidi, who supervised women’s football operations at AFSAR, one of the most successful clubs in Morocco, had once discussed how the sport was initially received by the male-dominated populace in the country.
“In the beginning, there was such talk as ‘You belong in the home or the kitchen’ … or girls would wait for their fathers or brothers to leave before they could sneak out to play,” she said. “But later, a brother would come with his sister, a father with his daughter.”
Hiba Karami, one of the members of the squad that played in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India in October 2022, shared a similar experience going into the senior World Cup this year.
“Some kids or men would say that women belonged in the kitchen and weren’t made for football,” she said. “I knew that I loved the game and that I will play.”
Women’s football in the country underwent a paradigm shift in 2020, with the Moroccan Football Federation – under the Kingdom of Morocco – investing more in the same.
It included setting up a two-division professional women’s league with 42 clubs, each of which committed to also launching teams at Under-17 and Under-15 levels.
The Federation now bears 70 per cent of the expenses of each club, where players earn a minimum salary of 3,500 dirhams ($360) per month in the top flight and 2,500 dirhams in the second tier. The average monthly salary for a footballer in Morocco is $400.
Moreover, Pedros, who coached Olympique Lyonnais women to two UEFA Women’s Champions League titles and also won the Africa Cup of Nations with Zambia and Ivory Coast, was hired as the national women’s team coach.
In 2022, the country hosted the Women’s African Cup of Nations for the first time, drawing large amounts of spectators, giving a further push to the sport for women as the Atlas Lionesses, led by captain Chebbak, finished as the runner-up at home.
Despite losing the final, the King of Morocco Mohammed VI, called up the team to congratulate the women.
“He [King Mohammed VI] said he was so proud of the team, don’t cry, we’re happy for you,” Khadija Illa, the president of the National Women’s Football League, told CNN after the match.
“Our King does not call everyone. It gives us a big push knowing that the king watches the women’s football.”
FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign
Morocco faced World No. 2 Germany in its opening match in what many termed the biggest mismatch in the tournament’s history. The two-time World Cup winner mauled the Atlas Lionesses 6-0.
However, three games later, it was not Morocco boarding its flight back home, but Germany. The North African side secured 1-0 wins against South Korea and Colombia to march into the knockouts.
“It has been three years in which we have been working hard to get to these incredible objectives. And, here we are,” Pedros said.
“We realized that with this (Moroccan) federation and this team, who are fantastic. I really love Morocco. It’s a country that I have discovered. I live there very happily.”
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Morocco had another trailblazer in Nouhaila Benzina at the WWC, who became the first player to play in the Women’s World Cup wearing a hijab. While few French publications criticised the move, Benzina became an inspiration for Muslim women footballers who chose to wear a scarf.
Morocco’s Nouhaila Benzina, left, and France’s Kenza Dali compete for the ball during the Women’s World Cup round of 16 match. | Photo Credit: James Elsby/AP
“I do not doubt that more and more women and Muslim girls will look at Benzina and just really be inspired – not just the players, but I think decision-makers, coaches, other sports as well,” said Assmaah Helal, a co-founder of the Muslim Women in Sports Network.
Despite its elimination by France, its maiden run, with posters of Chebbak and Benzina on the streets of Morocco will be the perfect reply to the chants of ‘going to the kitchen’ or ‘football is a man’s game’.
Two years ago, Morocco was barely a significant entity in the World Cup, despite a round of 16 entry in the men’s tournament in 1986. That glass ceiling has been broken now, and women are sharing the limelight as much as men.
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