Sport in Morocco
Sports in Morocco refers to the sports played in the Kingdom of Morocco. As of 2007, Moroccan society participated in many sports, including handball, football, golf, tennis, basketball, and athletics. Hicham El Guerrouj, a retired middle distance runner for Morocco, won two gold medals for Morocco at the Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Football
Morocco national football team
Morocco national under-23 football team
Morocco national under-20 football team
Morocco women's national football team
GNF 1
GNF 2
GNFA
Pickle racing
Motorsport
Moroccan Grand Prix (Formula One, sports car, and touring car racing)
Marrakech Street Circuit (World Touring Car Championship)
Stadiums
Stade d'Agadir (under construction)
Stade Cheikh Laaghdef
Stade Complexe Sportif
Stade d'Honneur
Stade Larbi Zaouli
Stade Mohammed V
Stade Moulay Abdellah
Stade de Tanger
Stade de Marrakech
Complexe OCP
Saniat Rmel
Stade Al Inbiaâte
Stade El Abdi
Stade El Harti
Stade El Massira
Stade Marche Verte
Stade Municipal (Kenitra)
Stade Sidi Bernoussi
Stade d'Honneur (Meknes)
Stade de Marchan
Stade du 20 Août
Complexe Al Amal de Casablanca
Cricket
Morocco national cricket team
Morocco hosted the 2002 Morocco Cup, which was well attended. Sri Lanka beat South Africa in the final.
Morocco boasts an ICC approved ground capable of hosting full internationals, the National Cricket Stadium in Tangier. It has so far hosted a One Day International triangular tournament, the Morocco Cup in 2002, where Sri Lanka won ahead of South Africa and Pakistan.
Basketball
Morocco, represented by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Basket-Ball, has been affiliated to FIBA since 1936. The men's national team has won a FIBA Africa Championship title, won in 1965.
Rugby union
History
Rugby came to Morocco in the early 20th century, mainly by the French who occupied the country.[3] As a result, Moroccan rugby was tied to the fortunes of France during the two world wars, with many Moroccan players going away to fight.[3] Like many other Maghrebi nations, Moroccan rugby tended to look to Europe for inspiration, rather than to the rest of Africa.
The game became more firmly established in the 1950s, partly through the efforts of Mohammed Benjaloun, who would become president of the Moroccan Olympic Committee.[3]
The link with France has proven to be a mixed blessing.[2] On the one hand, many successful Moroccan players go on to play in the French Leagues, on the other, some Moroccans who should be playing for Morocco, have ended up playing for France, or refusing Moroccan caps in case they are ineligible for this.[2][3] An example of this is, Abdelatif Benazzi, a forward who played for the French club of Agen and won his first cap for France in 1990, playing 77 games after that.[2][3] Benazzi was supposed to play for Morocco, and arguably his absence cost them promotion to the next round of 1995 Rugby World Cup qualifiers, and allowed the Ivory Coast to get through.[3]
For a while, Morocco originally came under European rugby auspices, but is now integrated into the African structure.
Morocco is a founder member of the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR), which was launched officially in January 1986, in Tunis, Tunisia. Rugby officials from Tunisia, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Kenya, the Seychelles and Madagascar also attended.[4]
Notable Moroccan players include:
Abdelatif Benazzi
Said Boucha
Abdellatif Boutaty
Rachid Karmouchi
Djalil Narjissi
Christian Carrere, captain of France
National team
Morocco traditionally sees neighbours Spain as their rivals.[3] Morocco played its first international in 1931 against them.[2] After playing several games, they would not play another international until 1967, when they joined the European Nations Cup and FIRA.[2] Morocco made the first division in 1983 but was beaten easily by France and Romania. After falling down the rankings, Morocco left the European series and joined the African Cup competition and won it in 2003 and 2005.[2]
Their sevens side is regularly plays in the top circuit, doing very well in Hong Kong.
Hockey
Morocco was admitted into the International Ice Hockey Federation on May 22, 2010.
Morocco at the Olympics
Morocco first participated at the Olympic Games in 1960, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except when they participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. Morocco also boycotted the 1976 Games, withdrawing after having initially sent a delegation. In doing so, Morocco joined the boycott of the Games by most African countries, in protest against New Zealand's participation following an All Blacks rugby match, unrelated to the Olympics, against an apartheid team from South Africa.[1] Only one Moroccon representative had time to compete before his country's withdrawal: Abderahim Najim took part in the Men's Light Flyweight event in boxing, and lost his first and only match.
Morocco has also participated in the Winter Olympic Games on four occasions since 1968, but not since 1992.
Moroccan athletes have won a total of twenty one medals, eighteen in athletics and three in boxing. Hicham El Guerrouj, with two gold medals and one silver medal, and Saïd Aouita, with one gold and one silver, are Morocco's two multiple medal winners.
Medal Name Games Sport Event
Silver Rhadi Ben Abdesselam 1960 Rome Athletics Men's marathon
Gold Nawal El Moutawakel 1984 Los Angeles Athletics Women's 400 metre hurdles
Gold Saïd Aouita 1984 Los Angeles Athletics Men's 5,000 metres
Gold Brahim Boutayeb 1988 Seoul Athletics Men's 10,000 metres
Bronze Saïd Aouita 1988 Seoul Athletics Men's 800 metres
Bronze Abdelhak Achik 1988 Seoul Boxing Men's featherweight
Gold Khalid Skah 1992 Barcelona Athletics Men's 10,000 metres
Silver Rachid El Basir 1992 Barcelona Athletics Men's 1,500 metres
Bronze Mohammed Achik 1992 Barcelona Boxing Men's bantamweight
Bronze Salah Hissou 1996 Atlanta Athletics Men's 10,000 metres
Bronze Khalid Boulami 1996 Atlanta Athletics Men's 5,000 metres
Silver Hicham El Guerrouj 2000 Sydney Athletics Men's 1,500 metres
Bronze Ali Ezzine 2000 Sydney Athletics Men's 3,000 metre steeplechase
Bronze Nezha Bidouane 2000 Sydney Athletics Women's 400 metre hurdles
Bronze Brahim Lahlafi 2000 Sydney Athletics Men's 5,000 metres
Bronze Tahar Tamsamani 2000 Sydney Boxing Men's featherweight
Gold Hicham El Guerrouj 2004 Athens Athletics Men's 1,500 metres
Gold Hicham El Guerrouj 2004 Athens Athletics Men's 5,000 metres
Silver Hasna Benhassi 2004 Athens Athletics Women's 800 metres
Silver Jaouad Gharib 2008 Beijing Athletics Men's marathon
Bronze Hasna Benhassi 2008 Beijing Athletics Women's 800 metres
Bronze Abdalaati Iguider 2012 London Athletics Men's 1500 metres
The National Olympic Committee for Morocco was created in 1959.
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