The Mohammed VI Football Academy is unlike any of the other non-Qatari participants in Al Kass 2020, because they do not have a counterpart side playing in a professional adult league. The club was established in Salé, Morocco in 2009 by King Mohammed VI to promote football skills amongst 13 to 18-year-olds nationwide. The initiative especially targets underprivileged youngsters from neighbouring capital Rabat, with an emphasis on combining sports and study.

The Mohammed VI Football Academy is firmly focussed on training its students to compete at the highest level. Late last year, the school formalised a three-year technical partnership with Ligue 1 legends Olympique Lyonnais. And, the success of the Mohammed VI model has been illustrated by the establishment of similar academies in other Moroccan cities, including Tangier and Agadir.

Compatriots Raja Casablanca competed in last year’s Al Kass International Cup, but were unable to make it into the knockout phase. The youngsters of the Mohammed VI Football Academy will be hoping to go one better in 2020.

1 Mohamed Yassine Al Asghar
2 Wanis Bham
3 Taha Souiri
4 Abdellah Baallal
5 Abderrahim Bouirkane
6 Youness Akharraz
7 Mohamed Yassine Hamdoune
8 Ilyass Lagrimi
9 Hassan Aqboub
10 Salah Eddine Cheffani
11 Walid Hasbi
12 Youssef Charouq
13 Ayoub El Hammami
14 Omar Sadik
15 Zakaria Nakhly
16 Mohammed Younes Jazouli
17 Mouad Dahak
18 Souhail Boudanane
19 Oussama Lyakoubi
20 Yassine Khalifi