00:03The Union of North African Football contains the five African nations along the Mediterranean coast,
00:11with Morocco in the west and Egypt in the east, sandwiching Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
00:22It is historically the strongest region in the continent for football.
00:31Egypt has the leading record at the Africa Cup of Nations,
00:38while Morocco has pushed the boundaries for Africa at the World Cup.
00:43These are indeed proud moments and a proud period for football on the African continent,
00:53taking into account the performance of all of our five national teams that were representing Africa at the FIFA World
01:04Cup, Qatar.
01:05And in particular, the historic achievements of Morocco that has made all of us exceptionally proud.
01:14They've made all of us in Africa uniquely proud.
01:20Club level?
01:22Sides from Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia have taken a stranglehold on the CAF Champions League.
01:33Through this pathway, the region has become a nursery for world-class players.
01:39Be it Algeria's Riyad Mahrez, Morocco's Ashraf Hakimi, or Egypt's Mohamed Salah.
01:48I live in the other world right now, and all the kids now, they want to be like Salah.
01:53In the past, it was only Messi and Ronaldo.
01:57A component of North Africa's success is its proximity to Europe,
02:02and the ease with which football culture has permeated.
02:06For example, Francophone Tunisia have been coached at various times by French luminaries Henri Michel,
02:16Roger Lemaire,
02:18and Alain Giresse.
02:22On top of that, colonization of the region and patterns of migration,
02:28especially involving France, provide symbiotic footballing benefits.
02:34Many of France's best players have North African roots,
02:37and many of North Africa's best players carry French passports.
02:42I want to dedicate to my family,
02:47and all the African,
02:50of course, Algerians as well,
02:52and all the people who support me every day.
02:55I want Africa and I want the world. Thank you.
03:00Riyad Mahrez grew up in northern Paris,
03:03to an Algerian father and a mother of Algerian and Moroccan descent.
03:07His long-standing Fennec's teammates Ais Amandi,
03:13Nabil Ben-Taleb and Ishmael Ben-Assur were all born in Europe.
03:21Compared to other regions in the continent,
03:24North African football has been well-financed,
03:27especially at club level,
03:29leading to strong domestic leagues and an embedded supporter culture.
03:38Egypt, Al-Akli, are the Real Madrid of the CAF Champions League,
03:42with a record 12 titles.
03:45Two clubs share second place with five titles apiece,
03:49one of which is Zamalak, also from Cairo.
03:53Not since 2016 has, aside from outside,
03:57Unaf lifted the trophy.
04:03The region has long suffered from security challenges
04:07and political instability.
04:09But there is growing confidence from the international community,
04:13as demonstrated by Morocco's selection by FIFA
04:16as one of the co-hosts of the 2030 World Cup.
04:23Morocco is also blazing a trail in women's football,
04:27creating a domestic league in 2001,
04:31hosting the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in 2022,
04:35then reaching the knockout stage on World Cup debut in 2023.
04:43All this success is leading to increased influence on the world stage.
04:48Moroccan Fouzi Lekjar, for example,
04:51is the first vice president of CAF,
04:53a member of the FIFA Council,
04:56and chair of the committee in charge of the joint candidacy
04:59of Morocco, Spain and Portugal
05:02for the organization of the 2030 World Cup.
05:07Lekjar also helps Morocco's King Mohamed VI
05:10invest in football,
05:13leading to nation-building projects
05:14like the state-of-the-art Academy Mohamed Sis de Futbol
05:18in Saleh,
05:20which helped fine-tune the development
05:22of the likes of Nayef Agurd
05:23and Youssef N. Nasseri.
05:28These developments reflect the significance
05:30of the sport in North Africa,
05:33an increasingly prosperous
05:34and visible group
05:36of football nations.
05:38and youssef N. Nasseri.
05:39And youssef N. Nasseri.
05:39And youssef N. Nasseri.
