Moroccan athletes nominated for Saudi Arabia’s prestigious Joy awards

The Joy Awards, part of Saudi Arabia’s Entertainment Industry Awards, has announced its latest round of nominations, which includes a roster of Moroccan athletes competing alongside top Arab stars in categories celebrating creativity and excellence across the entertainment spectrum.

This renowned event, which draws millions of viewers across the Arab world, honors influential figures in fields like sports, music, and social media.

The official Joy Awards app recently confirmed the preliminary nomination list, spotlighting Moroccan football icons and other notable athletes who have made a significant impact both in the Arab world and internationally.

In the highly-anticipated “Favorite Football Athlete” category, several Moroccan football stars are in the running, including Leicester City’s Bilal Khanous, UAE club Al Ain’s Sufyan Rahimi, Al-Shabab’s forward Abdel Razzaq Hamdallah, and Yassine Bounou, the celebrated goalkeeper for Al Hilal and Morocco’s national team, the “Atlas Lions.”

Outside of football, Moroccan Olympian and world champion runner Soufiane El Bakkali has been nominated in the athletics category.

Also competing is Taha Bendaoud, representing Morocco in the martial arts category.

Ibtissam Jraidi, a key player for Al-Ahly’s women’s team in Saudi Arabia, joins the awards in the “Favorite Athlete” category.

This group of influential athletes includes other Arab stars, such as Algerian boxer Iman Khalif, taekwondo champion Dounia Aboutaleb, swimmers Valerie Tarazi and Mashael Al-Eid, equestrian Nour Al-Salawi, and runner Winifred Yavi.

Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain, previously won the Joy Award for “Best Arab Athlete,” receiving his accolade from Turki Al-Sheikh, head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, in a memorable ceremony attended by his mother.

Scheduled to take place in January in Riyadh, the Joy Awards are part of the Saudi capital’s “Riyadh Season,” an initiative driven by the General Entertainment Authority in collaboration with the “Quality of Life” program, which is central to Saudi Vision 2030.

The event’s winners are determined by public voting via the official Joy Awards app, where fans select their favorites across categories like television, film, music, sports, and social media.

The Joy Awards ceremony will bring together elite figures in arts, film, theater, sports, and social media from across the Arab world.

In addition to athletes and entertainers, the event will host media figures, public personalities, prominent guests, and even a few international stars, celebrating a night of cultural excellence and community influence.