Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, confirmed that Morocco does not have any real influence within the African Football Confederation (CAF), despite its significant achievements at the continental and global levels, emphasizing that its role is limited to “being present” and extending a helping hand to African countries.
Lekjaa stated in his remarks: “Morocco does not possess influence, just presence.” He emphasized that due to the achievements the country is making, it is natural to secure a seat on the executive board, but on the other hand, there is no Moroccan employee at CAF. Furthermore, the country does not head any committee managing football, and the only committee that Rabat leads is the financial committee, which has been entrusted to Fouzi Lekjaa himself due to his expertise.
In a meeting with “Al Jazeera,” Lekjaa questioned: “Where is the influence? If there is influence, we should exploit it, but we have won only one African Cup and the second has not been settled, while the rest of the results were accomplished with FIFA.”
He stressed that CAF has not granted any privileges to Morocco; rather, Morocco is the one that initiates organizing events that other countries refuse. He said: “We gain nothing, and there is no influence. We told them when you cannot find anyone to organize tournaments, especially the youth who are ready to take on responsibilities, we will organize the Women’s African Cup that no country has agreed to host, as countries are unable due to a lack of stadiums, hotels, and respect for the standards established by CAF.”
Lekjaa concluded his statements by affirming that Morocco is ready to stop playing this role if others perceive it as a type of influence, but in reality, it is nothing more than a policy of extending a hand from the kingdom to its African brothers.
