Morocco football chief Fouzi Lekjaa faces election-season attack over national team record

Fouzi Lekjaa, widely regarded as the architect of Morocco’s football revival, has come under a fierce political attack from Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch less than two weeks before the country’s legislative elections.

Speaking to a crowd that applauded him, Akhannouch challenged several parts of the sporting record associated with Lekjaa, president of the Federation Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF), using Morocco’s unresolved Africa Cup of Nations triumph as one of his main criticisms.

“A promise is not saying that we are going to win the Africa Cup of Nations when we are still waiting,” Akhannouch said.

The remark refers to Africa Cup of Nations 2025. The official decision currently awards the title to Morocco after Senegal were sanctioned following the final. However, Senegal have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, whose verdict is still pending.

Akhannouch also highlighted the successive failures of the Atlas Lionesses on home soil.

“You lost three consecutive Africa Cups of Nations,” he said.

He then criticised the men’s national team for reaching the quarter-finals at the 2026 World Cup, in contrast to their historic run to the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup.

Lekjaa was also attacked over his stated ambition to bring the 2030 World Cup final to Morocco.

“Do not promise Moroccans that we will have the final in Morocco when nothing has been decided,” Akhannouch said. “It is a decision for the big players, not you.”

The criticism comes despite the dramatic progress made by Moroccan football since Lekjaa took charge of the FRMF in 2014.

After a 20-year absence, the Atlas Lions returned to the World Cup in 2018. Four years later, they became the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final. Morocco subsequently won an Olympic bronze medal in 2024 and reached the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup.

The country’s youth teams have also enjoyed major success, winning the Africa Cup of Nations U-23 in 2023 and the Africa Cup of Nations U-17 in 2025, before claiming the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Local selections have won several editions of the African Nations Championship, while Moroccan futsal has become a continental benchmark.

The women’s national team have yet to win a senior continental title, despite significant investment, but the Atlas Lionesses have reached two Africa Cup of Nations finals and progressed to the last 16 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on their first appearance.

Africa Cup of Nations 2025 also remains officially listed among Morocco’s honours, despite the disputed conclusion and the case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Lekjaa’s tenure, however, cannot be measured only in trophies. Morocco has used football as an instrument of soft power, developing academies, training centres and stadiums while regularly hosting African competitions. Its infrastructure is increasingly viewed as among the continent’s best and supports the country’s international ambitions, including co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.

Lekjaa is not beyond criticism. Results are expected after such investment, the women’s Africa Cup of Nations remains an unfinished objective and some promises can reasonably be questioned. Akhannouch may also have personal grievances, amid occasional speculation linking Lekjaa with political ambitions.

But the confrontation shows that election campaigning has moved well beyond the football pitch.