Morocco’s U-20 football team’s triumph in Chile did not come about by pure chance, but it rather crowns a visionary, well-structured sports policy championed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI over many years.
This historic feat is the result of a clear-sighted Royal Vision aimed at giving strong momentum to sports in general and football in particular, as a lever for human, social, and local development.
The Sovereign has always granted His High solicitude to all sports disciplines. In His message to the National Sports Conference in 2008, His Majesty the King emphasized that He believes in the Moroccan sport’s great potential. "We will therefore spare no effort to support all worthwhile initiatives we have set to make Moroccan sport an exemplary model and a factor in social cohesion and in strengthening our regional and international influence."
A melting pot of excellence, the Mohammed VI Football Academy is one of the embodiments of this Royal Vision for a sport that provides professional coaching.
Several players from this champion squad in Chile—namely Yassir Zabiri, Fouad Zahouani, Houssam Essadak, and Yassine Khalifi—have graduated this institution, a symbol of the upswing of the Moroccan training model.
Launched in 2009 and further enhanced after 2013, the Academy—born of HM the King’s perceptive leadership—has become a benchmark in sports training, enabling the discovery of young talents and their advancement to broader horizons.
Covering an area of about 18 hectares with an investment of around 140 million dirhams, the Academy exemplifies the High Solicitude that HM the King consistently extends to sports in general and football in particular.
Under Royal impetus, Morocco has also multiplied local playing fields, regional training centers, and modern facilities, allowing the youth to engage in sports across all regions of the Kingdom.
The democratization of sports across the country has shaped a new talented, disciplined and self-confident generation.
Today, the Mohammed VI Academy stands as a pole of excellence, contributing to the success of national teams both on a continental and international stage, by nurturing a new generation of top-level players, some of whom now form the backbone of the senior national team.
Building on the unparalleled accomplishment achieved by the senior national team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Mohammed VI Academy’s graduates have once again shone in the U20 World Cup in Chile alongside their teammates.
The performances achieved by Morocco’s football teams across all categories on continental and global stages—most recently the Lion Cubs’ triumph at the U20 World Cup in Chile—clearly illustrate the inclusive and balanced Royal Vision in the sports sector.
By clinching the U20 World Cup title, Morocco reaffirms its global standing, recognized among the great footballing nations as the fruit borne of His Majesty the King’s enlightened vision.
MAP: 20 October 2025
