Lacklustre Olympics' performance raises concerns over Moroccan sports
2008-08-25
Morocco's poor showing at the Beijing Olympics Games is leading some sports fans, athletes and trainers in the Kingdom to question government support of sports training programmes.
By Mawassi Lahcen for Magharebia in Casablanca – 25/08/08
 [Mawassi Lahcen] An exhausted but content Jaouad Gharib (left) holds the silver medal he won in the marathon race in Beijing. |
Morocco fielded a considerable team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games: 49 athletes, including 11 women, competed for the kingdom in seven different sports. The final results however failed to impress, with just one silver medal won by Jaouad Gharib in the marathon and one bronze medal won by Hasna Benhassi in the women's 800m.
The Olympic losses for Morocco have left behind widespread displeasure on the street. Physical education teacher Ftahi Jamal thinks the main reason behind these results is the absence of a clear sports policy in Morocco.
"We are still depending on athletes who are self-made or athletes who have benefited from the conditions provided to them by other countries," he said. "That was why Morocco didn't take part in any team sports, such as football or basketball... it is impossible that a sports team be formed based on self-means, like in the case of individual athletes."
Yathreb Zakaria, a clothing trader, said the results Morocco achieved were to be expected in view of the country's capabilities. "We must not forget that Morocco is a poor country and doesn't have the same ability to create high-level athletes in all sports," Zakaria said. "It is enough to see the distribution of medals in the Olympics to be sure that the number of medals won by each country is proportionate to its economic weight and to the capabilities it can provide for sports."
Retired Moroccan football great Aziz Bouderbala spoke with Magharebia about his bitterness and displeasure with the results. He said, "Since my return to Morocco, I have heard plans to promote sports in Morocco, and about new policies and trends drawn up by officials. Unfortunately, the results are contrary to these high-sounding speeches."
On the other hand, sports officials in Morocco say it is a lack of financial support that is most to blame. Jamal Kaed, head of Sports Promotion and Programmes at the Moulay Abdullah Sports Hall and Naval Base in Mohammedia, said that the results achieved by Morocco were expected.
"Except in athletics, where Morocco has a strong team which had intensive training and preparations both inside and outside Morocco," he said, "our chances were very poor in view of the stiff competition." Kaed added, "The reason is well-known. In short, the budget of the Moroccan Sports and Youth Ministry is less than the salary of a professional footballer."
Hasan Botkiout, Manager of National Teams for the Ministry of Youth and Sports, responded to these criticisms, saying things have actually started to change. He said Morocco has a consistent, systematic policy for preparing athletes for the Olympic Games.
"It's no coincidence that our chances in athletics are stronger," Botkiout said. "Since 1984, Morocco has adopted a special policy in athletics by establishing the National Institute in Rabat and training centres in Ifrane, Casablanca and Maamoura Forest."
Since 2007, the official continued, the ministry has broadened this permanent infrastructure to include other sports such as boxing, judo, cycling, wrestling, and weight-lifting.
When asked about Morocco's poor results even in the flagship field of athletics, Botkiout said, "We are now going through a transitional period. The top champions started to get old, while the young ones are in the process of developing and acquiring experience. Therefore, we have every confidence in the future."
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moroccan saharawi Posted 2008-08-26
i think really the gouvernement should give more money and invest in the sports because the image of a country reflects thier capacity to win medals. you know deeper when a country win lots of medals that means that this country is able to challenge and get victories, and if you can see in the cold war the olympics were like a silent war, between usa and urss, morocco have the leadershipp of the olympics if we don't wake up of our long sleep, we will be forgotten like a nation who do, and we will became watchers ' and to watch others do 'simply is not in the moroccan colture'
MManjoura Posted 2008-08-26
The days of Said Aouita and Hisham EL Guerrouj are long gone. These guys are self made international sport icons (Hero’s), they are exceptions. The reality is, it is not easy to produce a world class sports person, especially in sports like, rowing, cycling, short distance running (100m, 200m, 400m) …..; it requires education, dedication and resources from an early age, form both parents and government. The parents and the state have to be very committed; they need to be very knowledgeable and honest to them selves and to God. Producing an elite in any discipline, requires a continuous investment. But before we start a debate on how to produce a generation of sports people, we have to do the basics right first, and we have to be good at them. As I see it, being successful in an Olympic game is not the priority for Morocco at the moment, there is still a lot to be done? Being Moroccan I have quiet a good knowledge on how things woks over there. There is no transparency and sometimes no honesty either, this is sometime even among family members; there is plenty of bureaucracy and delusion. Government officials spend an enormous amount of time architecting how to convince the normal public that Morocco is simply amazing (One of the best countries in the world, as I have heard it from few innocents mouths), the reality is completely different unfortunately. Decision makers are still not too worries about corruption, luck of Justice and fairness within the ministry of interior and others. They are not too worried about the lack of hospitals the corruption of doctors. Now days you need to bribe a doctor or a nurse in state hospital if you want his/her attention or advice. Fascinating? Doctors are very educated and have sworn to be honest in their duties, why take a b
المهندس/حسن البهكلي Posted 2008-08-26
This doesn’t apply just to Morocco. This is the case of all Arabs. It is noticed that there are many Arab countries who had low results. Some countries have had medals in Athens 2004 and achieved nothing in Beijing 2008 even if the performance standards were high and more athletes qualified to Beijing in comparison with Athens 2004. Arab champions in Athens were eliminated in preliminary rounds in Beijing. This shows that everyone is making progress while we are going backward or just moving in the same place. However we are very slow. The improvement is that two Arab countries won medals for the first time (Bahrain the gold and Sudan the silver). The most important thing is that a big number made it to Beijing 2008. Their performance, results and efforts will be rewarded in London 2012 if planning, work and preparation begin now until the beginning of London Olympics 2012. Is it a problem of scarcity of talents, financial support or bad planning? If there is a stumble or slowness, look at the administration, mismanagement of funds and favouritism. The results of these bad acts have appeared. We hope and aspire to nice results in London 2012.
reda Posted 2008-08-26
This was a deception! They didn't give a **** about the Olympic Games!!! I hope that this so-called “transitory phase” will be over with as soon as possible. What became of Moulay Rachid’s international centre?
Chahine Posted 2008-08-26
I do not share Zakaria’s opinion as expressed in the report at all. First of all, Morocco is not a poor country. Poor countries are those where there is famine, like in certain African and Asian countries like Bangladesh. Moreover, there are countries less rich than Morocco that were ablaze in the Olympic Games, like Jamaica, which got 11 medals, six of which were gold. Even if we exclude the performance of Bolt, they still succeeded in getting eight medals, three of which were gold. There are other examples too, such as Kenya, which got six gold medals, Cuba and so on. The problem lies elsewhere. When I heard that there is not a single swimming pool in Morocco that is 50-metres long, I was speechless!
مرغي Posted 2008-08-26
If there were a medal in the art of corruption, Morocco would have won it.
Moulay Hesham Posted 2008-08-27
Atheletes like Said Aouita and El G are very special indeed. They are living Athletics legends so we cannot expect to produce athletes of that level too often. However, I agree that Morocco performed poorly in these Olympics but I have confidence that given time Morocco will produce middle distance runners like Khalid Skah and Salah Hissou very soon who are capable of winning Gold in the Olympics and World Championships. Morocco has a great long and middle distance running tradition which I'm sure will continue.
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