Welcome to a new episode of football of contrasts and paradoxes. At the start of the week, the New York Times devoted a laudatory article, through its publication “The Athletic”, where it highlighted Morocco as an “emerging football superpower”. This report highlighted the Kingdom's progress in terms of infrastructure, talent detection and even in terms of performance, like the epic 2022 World Cup. This position of choice was further consolidated by the announcement of the establishment of a permanent headquarters of the FIFA Africa Office, which will be located in Rabat.
Unfortunately, Moroccan soft power, which places it at an advanced rank on the continental and global stage, is neutralized by practices from another time, harming the reputation of football, which has earned its place with merit. in the big leagues. Let's start with the bickering, which regularly opposes the historic clubs of national football. The last clasico between AS FAR and Wydad offered a great spectacle on the field. But instead of being the subject of technical analysis of a great opposition between two historic clubs, the match hit the headlines, due to the deplorable behavior of a few fanatics, related to the Rbati club. The latter bombarded the stadium with projectiles of all kinds, pushing the South African coach of the WAC to expose, in the middle of a press conference, an “evidence”, which received reactions and squabbles via social networks.
The telenovela continued with “back to back” episodes. Mokwena's little act in front of the media, the rumor concerning a possible complaint against him and the media outing of President Ait Menna, on Radiomars, with a pointed dig in the direction of Raja. Finally, the last act of this tragicomedy, the press release from Raja and the right of response from its president Adil Hala, who decided to file a formal complaint before the Ethics Commission of the FRMF. The fan pages of the three clubs have been very happy with this controversy which, in the end, only drags our Botola down.
And what about the notable outing of the former MAT coach accusing the northern club of being at the mercy of a players' agent? What should we also think of the acts of hooliganism which characterized the CAK-KACM match? And finally, how can we analyze all the gossip that takes center stage in media and social networks? The “disguised” professionalism, established for more than a decade, is leading us straight towards the wall, due to the lack of maturity of all those involved in Botola.
The contrast is eloquent with the championships which should serve as a model for us, as important deadlines approach. The comparison will be inevitable. In La Liga, club presidents have lunch together on match days. It is a tradition, respected even by the most hated adversaries. The presidents sit side by side in the tribune of honor and congratulate the opponent for each title won. In England, presidents are never quoted by the media. Their management is certainly scrutinized, but the “Pundits” (TV consultants) prefer to focus on the game, on the management of the coaches and on the good health of the finances. In France, Al Khelaifi, Aulas and Nicollin are omnipresent in talks, on radio and TV sets, but media professionals also highlight the performances of the players and the strategies of the coaches. Not to mention the game, which takes the lion's share in pre- and post-match analyses.
This is why if a gentleman's agreement is not found between managers, if the coaches continue to refrain from talking about the game and the players, and finally, if our media continues to voluntarily snub those who make or break the show, the Botola product will never be salable internationally. And in ten years we will have finally moved from disguised amateurism to brown professionalism.
Par Amine Birouk
12/26/2024 at 4:09 p.m.
