SME-About Almountakhab Moroccan newspaper-Written by: Badr Al-Din Al-Idrisi
At the start of five consecutive editions of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, the curtain rises today, Friday, in the capital, Rabat, on a lavish football spectacle that will provide evidence that women’s football is developing at an accelerating pace, with FIFA’s full support extending to every corner of the world.
While our sister nation, Qatar, is hosting five editions of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, the first of which will open next December in Doha with the presence of our national team, the African champions, Morocco will be the capital of women’s football, creating hope for a beautiful future.
And so fate would have it, Morocco would be at the center of global attention, a shining sun on the planet of football. Last Tuesday witnessed a unique and historic event, as the Atlas Lions completed their World Cup qualifying campaign with a perfect score, setting a unique record, their third consecutive World Cup qualification, defeating Congo 1-0. However, that wasn’t the achievement that resonated worldwide. In fact, with their victory over the Congolese Devils, the Lions forcibly opened the Guinness Book of World Records and set a world record. The victory over Congo, courtesy of En-Nesyri’s goal, was their 16th consecutive victory, surpassing Germany and Spain in that respect.
Late Wednesday evening, the Atlas Cubs played in the semi-finals of the Under-20 World Cup against France. Their history-making journey meant we spent a sleepless night celebrating an unprecedented achievement. These Cubs placed Morocco in the World Cup final for the first time, successfully breaking the semi-final jinx that haunted our Lions in the Qatar World Cup and our Olympics in Paris.
This is sufficient proof that Moroccan football has transformed from an “inspiring experience” into a vehicle for success, with an identical strategy fueling every aspect of national football. Presence in world championships becomes merely a means to a greater, more beautiful, and more magnificent goal: reaching the summit.
That is the greatest challenge, the shared goal of all national teams, whose beautiful jerseys have become a source of pride for all their youth, a source of happiness for all Moroccans, and a beautiful example of faith in one’s abilities and tireless work.
Moroccan football is a global epic, the first chapters of which were written by the Lions in the Qatar World Cup, the second with our Olympians in Paris, and its beautiful and fragrant breaths waft through the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, where we reached the golden source. The rest of the story will be told by our girls today in their second appearance at the World Cup.
