Sports in Morocco - Athletics to Soccer!

Road to the Olympics in London 2016!

Pan Arab Games

Did you know-Between August 8 and August 16, 1985, Rabat, capital of Morocco, hosted the VI Pan Arab Games. More than 3,400 athletes from 17 nations competed in North Africa. The local team took first place in the unofficial team championships.

Sport

Did you know-The most popular sports are football, tennis, athletics, boxing, basketball and handball.

Summer Olympics - 1976 & 1980

Did you know-By the mid-1970s, a rugby team from New Zealand visited South Africa, an international pariah between 1960 and 1990. For this reason, the Kingdom of Morocco criticized the participation in the Olympic Games with a team of New Zealand Montreal. In July 1976, France has boycotted the Games. In 1980, countries such as Egypt, Sudan and Somalia - also declined to participate in the Summer Games in Moscow. The boycott was a protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, an Arab nation.

Football

Did you know-The men's soccer squad from Morocco won the African Cup of Nations in 1976. Six years ago, he participated in the global competition, but the results were anything but glorious: the men's football team finished in 14th place in FIFA World Cup in the United Mexican States. In June 1986, however, the country came in 11th place in the universal event, ahead of Italy, Uruguay and Scotland. That year, Morocco represented Africa. On the other hand, in the 70s, the North African team finished seventh in the men's Olympic Football Tournament 13th of the Federal Republic of Germany, ahead of Brazil and the United States.

Olympic Champs

Did you in the international Olympic Games, Morocco has had notable Olympic champs, among them Aouita (5000 Olympic gold medalist in 1984), Brahim boutaib (Olympic 10,000 champion in 1988), Khalid Skah (10,000 Olympic medalist gold in 1992), Hicham El Guerrouj (2004 Olympic champion in 1500 and 5000) and Nawal el Moutawakii (400m hurdles Olympic gold medalist in 1984). At the 1984 Games in California, Nawal made history by becoming the first Arab woman to win an Olympic gold medal. Following her performance, Nawal is an idol in North Africa. Currently, she is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Volleyball

Did you know-The Junior Tournament FIVB World Men was held in Morocco in 2007.

African Games

Did you know-The Arab nation did not participate in the 2007 African Games in Algeria.

Alejandro Guevara Onofre: Freelance writer. Alejandro is author of a host of articles / essays about over 220 countries and dependencies (and American States as well), from ecology, history, tourism and national heroes to Olympic sports, External Relations and wildlife. In addition, he has published some books on women's rights, among them "History of Women in America" ​​and "Famous Americans." .....