This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Heba Press – Muhammad Zariyouh
The city of Nador, one of the main cities and gateway to Aruba, experiences a tragic sporting reality that reflects a great neglect of the infrastructure necessary for the development of sport.
This reality is not limited to lack of equipment or lack of interest from officials, but rather extends to threatening the safety of players and hindering the progress of local teams that represent the city in national competitions .
In a now familiar scene, the Hilal Nador football team is forced to train on an unprepared clay pitch next to the municipal stadium, which has often become unavailable due to the extended match schedule. other categories.
This ground does not meet the most basic safety standards, because it suffers from inequalities and the absence of any equipment enabling sports performance to be developed. Players who go to great lengths to prepare for matches find themselves surrounded by conditions that threaten their health and hinder their development.
What makes the situation worse is the lack of lighting in the municipal stadium, which makes evening training and matches almost impossible.
This lack of equipment reflects persistent neglect on the part of responsible authorities, whether at local or national level, with sport in Nador having become the last priority of officials.
This miserable situation raises questions about the lack of spatial justice in Morocco. While major cities see huge investments in sports infrastructure, cities like Nador suffer from marginalization affecting various sectors.
Despite the strategic geographical location of Nador and its important role as a link between Morocco and Europe, it still experiences shaky development conditions, which make sport an additional neglected sector.
The problem is not new. Official promises to build a sports stadium commensurate with the size of the city and the aspirations of its youth date back many years. Under the government of Abdelilah Benkirane, former Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Ouzin announced the allocation of a huge budget to build a large sports stadium in Nador. These promises then aroused great hopes among the inhabitants, but they did not materialize on the ground, remaining in ink on paper, adding to a long series of disappointments suffered by the inhabitants of the city.
The lack of sports infrastructure does not only affect local sports, but rather reflects a deeper picture of the marginalization that Nador suffers from. Other vital sectors such as health, education and public infrastructure are in a similar situation, prompting many young people to seek broader horizons outside their city, whether by migrating to other cities in Morocco or Europe.
Sport in Nador is not limited to being a means of entertainment or fun, but rather constitutes an essential element of the lives of young people and a source of pride for the city. However, continued neglect threatens the extinction of this vital sector. Local teams like Hilal Nador, who bear the city’s name in national competitions, need real support, whether through the provision of prepared stadiums or through funding that helps them achieve feats that restore the sporting status of Nador.
The local community and people interested in sports business in Nador demand quick action to save the situation. The solutions are not impossible, but they require real political will and a strategic vision aimed at achieving spatial justice. The city of Nador, with its natural and human resources, deserves to be a model of balanced development, instead of remaining a witness to abandonment and neglect.
While we wait for change, the question remains: when will those in charge realize that sport is not a luxury, but rather an investment in people and society? The answer to this question can determine the future of an entire city and its ambitious youth, faced with a reality that is getting darker day by day.
