Mr. Lekjaa, speaking at the opening of the 4th edition of the African Investment and Employment Days, held under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, recalled that the true starting point of the reform of the national football system dates back to the Royal Message addressed to the Skhirat Conference in 2008, which laid out a clear and detailed roadmap for restructuring sport in Morocco.
He stressed that the creation of the Mohammed VI Football Academy is part of this vision. The Academy has become a genuine pool of talent, having trained players who now compete in the world’s biggest competitions, which demonstrates the clarity of the medium and long term strategy.
According to Mr. Lekjaa, turning sport, and football in particular, into a strategic lever for economic and social development depends essentially on investment in training and supervision at all levels. In this regard, Morocco has made an exceptional effort by mobilizing qualified professionals.
He also insisted on the importance of rigorous governance of the sports system to adapt the legal framework of football to current transformations. This discipline, he reminded, “is no longer an activity with limited resources, but a true economic system, which requires the modernization of management mechanisms”.
A strategic vision shared by national institutions
For his part, the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Azeddine Madani, stated that this event offers a clear understanding of the reasons that led to the successes of national football. These achievements, he emphasized, “are not the result of chance, but the outcome of a strategic process based on a comprehensive analysis of all components of the system”: training, infrastructure, modern technologies, performance analysis, governance, and the economic, social and sporting dimensions.
The minister insisted on the need to accompany national and international transformations, modernize management models within institutions and strengthen sectoral skills to make it an actor capable of generating wealth and contributing effectively to development.
The president of Mohammed V University, Mohamed Gachi, highlighted that the sports economy, especially the football economy, has now established itself as a promising lever to support growth dynamics, attract investment, create jobs and improve social and economic indicators. Football, he recalled, “is no longer just a simple sporting practice. It has become an economic industry, a symbol of identity, a pillar of Moroccan soft power and an effective tool for social and continental integration”.
Mr. Gachi also highlighted the strengths of the African continent, including its young human capital, natural resources and underexploited innovation potential. He emphasized the central role of the university as a strategic actor, beyond its educational mission, in shaping public policies and designing future oriented visions.
He affirmed that this 4th edition represents “an important step in strengthening African academic cooperation” and an opportunity for collective reflection on the future of sport, youth empowerment and the construction of a sustainable economy.
For his part, the Dean of the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences of Souissi, Omar Hanich, underlined that the Moroccan university is an institution that produces knowledge, is oriented towards vision, contributes to public policies and represents a central actor in national and continental development.
He expressed his hope that these orientations will be reflected in the work of this edition, particularly through in depth scientific discussions on the reality of African sport and the formulation of operational recommendations for decision makers and public policies.
A continental event to showcase the Moroccan model
Held over two days under the theme:
“Sport and development in Africa… Football as a tool for social and economic inclusion”,
this fourth edition aims to highlight the Moroccan experience, illustrated by the historic performances of the Atlas Lions at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the world title of the national U20 team.
The objective is to inspire the development of African strategies that are adapted to the national realities of each country.
This edition places particular emphasis on the strategic role of football in the social and economic development of the African continent, the mobilization of African sports systems, the structuring of value chains in the sports economy, the development of human capital and training in sports governance, support for innovation and digitalization in sport and the strengthening of social and economic inclusion through sport.
Editorial team/le7tv