Morocco settles on Ludovic Batelli as new U20 team

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation has appointed French coach Ludovic Batelli as the new head coach of the Morocco national under-20 football team, stepping in after the tenure of Mohamed Wahbi. The appointment marks a new chapter for the youth side known as the Atlas Lions U20.

Batelli brings extensive experience in youth football, having worked with several national teams and clubs throughout his career. Born on May 24, 1963, in Lens, France, he began his professional journey as a goalkeeper, playing nearly 250 matches over a decade with clubs including RC Lens, Valenciennes FC, FC Lorient and Annecy FC.

After retiring from playing, Batelli moved into coaching and quickly built a reputation in youth development. He obtained the UEFA Elite Youth licence in 1996, followed by the UEFA Pro licence in 2001 and later the AFC Pro licence in 2018.

His early coaching career included two spells with Amiens SC between 2001 and 2005 and again from 2009 to 2012, where he notably guided the club to the final of the Coupe de France in 2001.

Batelli later worked extensively with the youth national teams of France national under-20 football team and other age categories, including the under-16, under-18 and under-19 squads. His most notable achievement came in 2016 when he led the France national under-19 football team to victory at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship with a talented generation that included Kylian Mbappé, Amine Harit, Issa Diop and Jean-Kévin Augustin.

Following his success with France’s youth teams, Batelli worked internationally, including a spell as coach of the United Arab Emirates national under-19 football team from 2018 to 2019. He also held several roles within the Algerian football structure, serving as director of national teams and coaching the Olympic and local national sides.

His most recent club experience came with SC Toulon, where he worked between May 2021 and January 2022.

Batelli now begins his tenure with Morocco’s under-20 team and is expected to quickly assess the squad during upcoming friendly matches against Union Touarga Sport and CODM Meknès. Both games are scheduled to take place during the international break from March 23 to 31, 2026 at the Mohammed VI Football Complex.

Looking ahead, the next major target for the Moroccan youth side will be the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations scheduled for 2027. The tournament will also serve as a qualifying competition for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is expected to be hosted either in Uzbekistan or Azerbaijan later that year.

Morocco will be aiming to go one step further after finishing as runners-up in the last continental tournament, where they lost the final to South Africa national under-20 football team.