Classroom lesson · Sport · 🇲🇦 Morocco

Football in Morocco

The team that made history at the 2022 World Cup

A football match scene in Morocco with fans in red waving flags

Photo · Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

Football is the most popular sport in Morocco. Children play it in dusty side streets, on beaches, in school yards and in stadiums. In 2022, the Moroccan national team became the first African team ever to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup - a moment that whole continents celebrated.

Tell me more

The Moroccan team is known as the 'Atlas Lions' - named after the Atlas Mountains where, hundreds of years ago, real lions used to roam. Their kit is bright red with a green star on the chest, matching the Moroccan flag.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Morocco beat Belgium, Spain and Portugal - some of the biggest teams in football - on their way to fourth place. People danced in the streets of Casablanca, Rabat, Paris, Brussels and Cape Town. It is sometimes called 'the most-celebrated football run in African history'.

Children all over Morocco play football. You don't need much - a ball, two piles of jumpers for goalposts, and friends. The streets of medina towns turn into pitches as soon as the sun starts to set and the air cools down.

Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup, together with Spain and Portugal. It will be the first time a World Cup is hosted on three continents at once - parts of it in Africa, parts in Europe.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01Why might a whole continent celebrate a single country's team?
  2. 02What makes football such a popular sport in so many places around the world?
  3. 03If you had to invent a team nickname for our school, what animal or symbol would you pick?
Try this

Classroom activity

Hold a mini class tournament. Make team names based on Moroccan ideas (the Atlas Lions, the Sahara Foxes, the Blue City Goats). Award points not just for goals but for fair play, teamwork and the best cheer.