Sport in Morocco

Sports in Morocco refers to the sports played in the Kingdom of Morocco. As of 2007, Moroccan society participated in many sports, including handball, football, golf, tennis, basketball, and athletics. Hicham El Guerrouj, a retired middle distance runner for Morocco, won two gold medals for Morocco at the Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Football

Botola

Main article: Botola

The Botola Pro is the top league competition for football clubs in Morocco. Each year 16 teams compete for the championship. Champion and runner-up participate in the African Champions League. The most successful clubs are Wydad Casablanca, Raja Casablanca, and Far Rabat.

Motorsport

Mehdi Bennani is Morocco's most notable racing driver. He has competed in the World Touring Car Championship since 2009, where he has scored a number of top three finishes. In 2014 he scored his first WTCC win at the championship's Shanghai round.[1]

Stadiums

Cricket

Morocco hosted the 2002 Morocco Cup, which was well attended. Sri Lanka beat South Africa in the final.

Morocco boasts an ICC approved ground capable of hosting full internationals, the National Cricket Stadium in Tangier. It has so far hosted a One Day International triangular tournament, the Morocco Cup in 2002, where Sri Lanka won ahead of South Africa and Pakistan.

Basketball

Morocco, represented by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Basket-Ball, has been affiliated to FIBA since 1936.[2] The men's national team has won a FIBA Africa Championship title, won in 1965.

Rugby union

Rugby union came to Morocco in the early 20th century, mainly by the French who occupied the country.[3] As a result, Moroccan rugby was tied to the fortunes of France, during the first and second World War, with many Moroccan players going away to fight.[3] Like many other Maghreb nations, Moroccan rugby tended to look to Europe for inspiration, rather than to the rest of Africa.

Notable Moroccan players include:

Hockey

Morocco was admitted into the International Ice Hockey Federation on May 22, 2010.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mills, Peter (12 October 2014). "Shanghai WTCC: Mehdi Bennani scores Honda's first 2014 win". autosport.com. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  2. ↑ Morocco (MAR), FIBA
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ISBN 1-86200-013-1) p71
  4. ↑