Morocco combines its FIFA Talent Development Scheme to schools football programme, paving the way for other countries to follow suit

It’s a scheme in which has consultants taking part along with experts,
coaches from around the world, former players, former coaches and
former directors of football By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa In conjunction with the development of facilities and as part of the
talent detection process, the  Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) is
also in schools, trying to close the net as tight as it can and make
sure that no potentially gifted individuals slip through it.

“We’ve embarked on a sports studies programme with the Ministry of
National Education to create school structures across the country that
can accommodate boys and girls who play football all the time,
offering them a timetable adapted to every level of schooling,” says
Fouzi Lekjaa, President of FRMF.

And based on an innovative study on talent development launched two
years ago, the TDS ties in seamlessly with FIFA President Gianni
Infantino’s 2020-2023 Vision: Making Football Truly Global. As part of
this second phase and in line with the study’s results, national
associations can focus on specific aspects of their development needs.

“By way of example, the idea of football development at school has
taken root among CAF member associations,” explained FIFA technical
director Steven Martens. “It’s a great idea but a huge challenge too.
It involves all the associations and all the countries organising a
regular schools competition that could perhaps lead into international
competitions. The most important thing, though, is local activity and
giving young people the chance to meet up and play regularly.”

The FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS) workshop was recently held in Morocco.

Moreover, the Moroccan Football Association (FRMF) is making great
strides in developing the country’s young talent, pointing the way for
others to follow; FRMF president points to three key elements:
facilities, talent and qualified personnel.

With five FIFA World Cup appearances to its name and a sixth to come
at Qatar 2022, a thriving domestic scene and a clutch of clubs
regarded as continental heavyweights, and a solid reputation for
producing dependable defenders, creative midfielders and stylish
forwards, it is no exaggeration to say that Morocco is a hotbed of
talent.

It was in this football-loving country that FIFA held a June workshop
devoted to the Talent Development Scheme (TDS), which was launched in
February 2020 by Arsene Wenger, FIFA Chief of Global Development.

More than 50 development specialists and regional technical advisers
attended the Mohammed VI Football Academy to discuss talent
development strategies, share best practice, and prepare the ground
for the rest of FIFA’s member associations to support the scheme.

FRMF is devoting all its energy to these goals, as its president,
Fouzi Lekjaa, made clear in his opening speech at the seminar: “The
development of football in Morocco is founded on a triangular approach
that should form the basis of the development of any system:
facilities, talent and qualified personnel. Along with my colleagues
at the FRMF, I am convinced that those three fundamentals have to be
in place for the process to develop as it should.”

The FRMF is delivering on its promises, focusing first of all on
facilities both nationally and locally. A high point in its
development plans came with the 2019 opening of the Mohammed VI
Football Academy, which covers 30 hectares and boasts the latest
facilities and equipment – all of it compliant with FIFA standards.
The jewel in the crown of Moroccan football, it is one of the biggest
and highest-achieving sports academies in the world.

In the meantime, the Moroccan authorities have also been developing
local facilities, as Lekjaa revealed: “We have a team overseeing
development across the country’s 12 regions, starting with talent
detection, with young players attending club academies. That’s why
we’ve made such a big effort to make sure clubs have their own
academies. The regional academies are the same as the national
academy, just smaller. The best players from the regions go to the
centre of excellence, which has coaching and medical staff who work
with young players spotted in grassroots football and take them up to
the next level. That’s the way our development cycle is designed. It
starts with talent detection at grassroots level, with that talent
then channeling into the clubs, the regional academy and on to the
national centre of excellence.”

“Morocco is a young society and our young people have raw talent,”
continued the FRMF president, who also said that that the Moroccan
climate is ideal for playing football. “We are trying to deliver
maximum added value in footballing terms so that we can take that raw
talent at the age of ten and allow them to express it and raise their
game. The idea is to prepare them for life as professional players and
for them to kick on and join clubs.”

The talent is there and the facilities too. All that is needed are
qualified people to ensure that potential is harnessed to the full.
“If the game is going to develop, we need to have professional staff
with the ability to deliver,” added Lekjaa. “That’s the vital link
that we’re working on and investing so much of our energy in, all with
a view to closing the gap and giving everyone the opportunity to
enhance their skills with training delivered by the National Academy
at both amateur and professional level.”

As a result, Morocco is leading the way with the Talent Development
Scheme, setting an example for others to follow, as FIFA technical
director Steven Martens confirmed. “The Moroccan FA is very important
for FIFA and football in Africa, not just because of its facilities
but because of its programmes, the president’s vision and the quality
of its training."

Convinced that the country’s investments will pay off, Martens added:
“I know you are anxious for things to happen and are expecting big
results but there is no question that the work Morocco is doing now
will yield results in the long term. Those results might even come in
the medium term. After all, you staged the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of
Nations this year, you have qualified for the 2022 World Cup, and your
youth teams are starting to put some excellent performances together.”

Impressed by the welcome they received and the facilities, the
workshop’s participants had an ideal setting in which to explore the
themes raised. ”As a high-performance specialist involved in the TDS
project, I’d like to congratulate the Moroccan FA on its amazing
facilities. The association and its president had the vision to build
this infrastructure with the aim of developing talented young
players,” commented former Portugal striker Nuno Gomes, while
ex-France defender Mikael Silvestre hailed the quality of the national
academy: “It is outstanding. It’s lush and green, the pitches are
ready and the working environment is first class.”

“It’s a huge honour that FIFA has chosen Morocco to organise this
workshop,” said FRMF Director of Training Fathi Djamal. “Morocco was
selected because of its many facilities and major logistical
resources. It was selected because of the excellent reputation it
enjoys around the world for organisation. Our country always led the
way in that respect, as a sort of football laboratory, and we can do
so again.”

According to FIFA, the workshop gave Martens and his team the perfect
opportunity to explain the importance of the TDS and FIFA’s
development programmes. “The TDS is a scheme designed for everyone. It
seeks to give every talented player a chance,” he said. “It’s a scheme
in which we have consultants taking part along with experts, coaches
from around the world, former players, former coaches and former
directors of football. We are here to train the leaders of today and
to prepare them. Some 154 countries have already signed up for the
scheme and it is vital that we help each and every one of them at
their own level.”


“Thanks to the scheme, we are starting to give a chance to every
talented player because we believe that to be in the interests of
every national association,” he added. “Every association wants their
national team to do well, but there’s a lot more to football
development than just a path to the top. You have to make sure players
stay in the game and are excited by it.”

In Morocco, that excitement is spreading across the nation, organisers attest.