RABAT, Morocco (AP) 鈥 The game was sparsely attended; it was midweek and the outcome wasn鈥檛 much in doubt: the Association Sportive des Forces Armees Royales, a powerhouse in women鈥檚 soccer here, ended up crushing its Moroccan women鈥檚 national professional league opponent 7-0.
Regardless, one young fan in the stands was excited from the get-go.
Wearing her hair in half-up pigtails and dressed in a jersey reading 鈥淢orocco鈥 in Arabic, 5-year-old Aliae Benazzouza descended to the pitch to meet the players. A favorite of hers, Fatima Tagnaout, who plays for Morocco鈥檚 national women鈥檚 team and for the armed forces team known as ASFAR, embraced Aliae and held her hand as they posed for photos. Aliae waved at another player, calling her name. During the game, she would make her way to the front of the stands, pressing against a rail, for a better view.
鈥淚 was very happy,鈥 Aliae said. Her mom, Souad El Khorchef, a teacher, said her daughter peppered her with kisses afterward in thanks for taking her to the game and asked to practice soccer. El Khorchef told her that is possible when she鈥檚 older.
After years largely in the margins, Moroccan women鈥檚 soccer is gaining new ground at home and beyond, capturing the imagination of some girls like Aliae, winning the hearts and minds of more parents, and chipping away at a traditional view of soccer as a men鈥檚 game. Morocco鈥檚 national team, the Atlas Lionesses, made its debut at the ongoing FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup, the first to qualify from the Arab world, where many are wild for the men鈥檚 game.
On Thursday, the Moroccan team celebrated a stunning victory, Morocco, as the Group H runner-up, will play Group F winner France in Adelaide, Australia, on Tuesday.
鈥淚 teach (my daughters) confidence, not fear,鈥 said Idriss Benazzouza, Aliae鈥檚 father. 鈥淚 plant in them the spirit of soccer, the spirit of sports. Sports don鈥檛 differentiate between genders.鈥
Speaking ahead of the start of the Women's World Cup, he said the Lionesses鈥 qualification 鈥渟hows how women鈥檚 soccer has progressed鈥 in the North African country, filling him with joy. He added, though, that not everyone he knows shares his enthusiasm due to conservative views or to religious beliefs against women wearing shorts.
The national team鈥檚 Women's World Cup appearance followed their male counterpart鈥檚 feat as the first African or Arab team to reach the World Cup semifinals. Last year's run
Morocco鈥檚 2022 hosting of the Women鈥檚 Africa Cup of Nations drew large numbers of spectators and catapulted the country to the upcoming global tournament in Australia and New Zealand. It marked a watershed moment, soccer officials and players say.
鈥淭he qualification of the women鈥檚 team for the finals at the Africa Cup of Nations, the media momentum and the wide audience that followed 鈥 breathed new life into women鈥檚 soccer in Morocco,鈥 Khadija Illa, president of the national women鈥檚 soccer league, told The Associated Press. 鈥淲e now see families bring their children, 鈥 their daughters, to play soccer.鈥
The on-the-pitch victories leading to the Women's World Cup, she said, were the culmination of efforts by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to develop soccer, including for women. Female players and teams traditionally suffered from neglect here and in the Arab world.
It wasn鈥檛 an easy path, Illa said.
鈥淓verything related to women requires struggling for,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not 100% where we want to be, but we have put sound structures in place.鈥
Those include hiring Atlas Lionesses鈥 coach Reynald Pedros and moves in recent years by the Moroccan federation to support women's clubs with such things as salaries and buses. Financial assistance was part of an agreement announced in 2020 for the growth and professionalization of female soccer; goals included establishing a national under-17 championship and increasing the number of female players.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no success without financial support,鈥 Illa said. 鈥淓veryone played before but they played without enthusiasm. 鈥 When they realized that soccer can also become a career, the appetite has increased.鈥 Still, she said, large salary gaps exist between male and female players at Moroccan clubs, adding, 鈥淲e鈥檙e still at the beginning of the road.鈥
She cited a sports-study program that searches for youthful talent, houses girls who qualify and provides them with schooling and soccer practice. It鈥檚 funded by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and has produced such players as Tagnaout, Illa said.
Bahya El Yahmidi, who oversees women鈥檚 soccer at ASFAR, said with more victories, attitudes have been evolving.
鈥淚n the beginning, there was such talk as 鈥榊ou belong in the home or in the kitchen鈥 鈥 or girls would wait for their fathers or brothers to leave before they could sneak out to play,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut later, a brother would come with his sister, a father with his daughter.鈥
In developing women's soccer at ASFAR, the club provided players with 鈥渇inancial and moral stability,鈥 which has encouraged more to join, she said.
Atlas Lionesses' and ASFAR player Ghizlane Chebbak, named player of the tournament in the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations, is increasingly seeing the star power she and some of her peers are enjoying in the eyes of young fans.
She recalled a girl sobbing uncontrollably, emotional that she encountered Chebbak and other players. That girl, she said, ended up joining ASFAR.
鈥淚t made us feel that we have actually made it to the hearts of young children,鈥 Chebbak told the AP.
When she was young, Chebbak would hear neighbors telling her mother not to let her play with the boys. She felt lucky that her family, including her late father who was a soccer player himself, backed her.
鈥淥ur efforts and perseverance in the field of soccer haven鈥檛 gone in vain; people have understood that we have the right to play this sport,鈥 the 32-year-old said.
She hopes the national team can make Moroccan women鈥檚 soccer proud at the World Cup. 鈥淲e鈥檙e highly focused," she said, ahead of the tournament.
Nouhaila Benzina, who also plays for the national team and ASFAR, said her soccer career has opened up new worlds, helping her meet people from different countries and religions. The 25-year-old never saw her passion for soccer at odds with her modest attire and the Islamic headscarf that she wears on and off the pitch.
Many, she said, depict her as a role model.
鈥淭his fills me up with joy and makes me want to work harder to show girls they can achieve great things.鈥
The Lionesses' ascent fuels the resolve of players like Hiba Karami, who plays for another local team, Fath Union Sport.
鈥淭his has made me work harder, aspire for more, dream," said the 18-year-old, who hopes one day to play with the senior national team.
The advancement in women鈥檚 soccer has made a dream a reality for Karami; last year, she was one of the players representing Morocco in the FIFA U-17 Women鈥檚 World Cup in India.
Karami loved soccer from a young age because her older sister played; they practiced together at home and on the beach.
鈥淎t the time, not much attention was paid to women鈥檚 soccer,鈥 she said. Her parents supported her, and Karami paid little heed to naysayers.
鈥淪ome kids or men would say women belonged in the kitchen and weren鈥檛 made for soccer,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 knew that I loved the game and that I will play.鈥
Her sister encouraged her. So did her extended family, though an aunt cautioned her not to dress like men now that she was playing soccer. Boys in the neighborhood accepted her 鈥渂ecause I played better than they did,鈥 she said.
In recent years, women鈥檚 soccer has received more attention, Karami said. She was overjoyed to see many people supporting the national team during last year's Women's Africa Cup of Nations, where it lost 2-1 to South Africa in the final.
She only wishes that success happened sooner. For her, it鈥檚 personal; her sister died.
鈥淚 wish she were here to witness my achievements,鈥 Karami said, breaking into tears.
Coach Pedros told reporters ahead of the tournament of the Moroccan team's Women's World Cup ambitions.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going there to try and cause an upset, to get into the second round,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e know we鈥檙e the underdog in this group (with Germany, Colombia and South Korea), but that doesn鈥檛 stop us making things difficult for the other teams.鈥
He said having a Moroccan professional championship for women was a promising start 鈥渂ut we need to work in the clubs and in the national team to help Moroccan women鈥檚 soccer progress.鈥
In parts of the Middle East and North Africa, when there are official efforts to develop the game.
Arijana Demirovic, head of Women鈥檚 Football Development at FIFA, said that in the last three years, the international federation worked extensively with member associations in the MENA region to strengthen overall development of women's soccer.
FIFA, she said, supported Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in determining long-term strategies for women鈥檚 soccer while also working on league development and capacity-building programs in Jordan, Iraq, Oman and Tunisia.
鈥淒espite cultural challenges, member associations have been very committed in creating and maintaining access and opportunities for the girls to join the game in the right environment and conditions,鈥 she said. She expects these regional efforts to be bolstered by Morocco's participation in the Women's World Cup.
Illa shares that optimism.
鈥淣othing is impossible,鈥 she said. 鈥淚f they work and plan, other teams can make it too. Why not have four or five Arab teams competing in the World Cup?鈥
In Arab cities, where months , attitudes vary.
In Gaza, ruled by the militant Hamas group, shopkeeper Ahmed Qoffa said he rooted for Morocco's men鈥檚 team but takes issue with female players wearing shorts.
鈥淐ulture and religion do not prohibit sports,鈥 he said. 鈥淚f it is within the legal, cultural and societal limits, then there is no problem.鈥
Elsewhere in the region, many, including some serious soccer fans, were unaware shortly before the start of the Women鈥檚 World Cup, of the Atlas Lionesses鈥 breakthrough.
鈥淭hey always give attention to men鈥檚 sports more than women鈥檚, especially in our countries,鈥 said Hadeel Sleiman. She is a fan from Lebanon.
In Egypt, 61-year-old Hassan Yousef argued that soccer 鈥渋s a rough game that is not at all fit for women,鈥 adding he wouldn鈥檛 enjoy watching women play.
Dr. Husam Mokhtar, a Libyan in Egypt, said he doubts women鈥檚 soccer can become as popular as men鈥檚. 鈥淲e support any Arab country making it to the World Cup,鈥 he said, but added that 鈥渟occer is a men鈥檚 game.鈥
His 13-year-old daughter, Miral, disagreed. 鈥淓veryone should do what they want to do,鈥 she said. 鈥淓very sport should be played by everyone.鈥
Back in Morocco, Fath Union Sport players practiced vigorously on a recent day.
Among them was 11-year-old Inass Belattar, who once thought only boys could play soccer because she had never seen girls playing on the street. That changed as she watched a women鈥檚 team compete at a stadium. She was hooked.
She dreams of a career as a soccer player, or a coach, but also an engineer.
鈥淕irls can do anything," she said. 鈥淚 want to play abroad and be famous around the world."
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This story, which originally moved on July 10, is being updated with Moroccan women鈥檚 national team making it to the knockout round at the Women鈥檚 World Cup.
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Associated Press journalists Wafaa Shurafa in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Graham Dunbar in Geneva, Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Jerome Pugmire in Paris contributed.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
