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The semi-final of the Football World Cup will oppose France to Morocco. The qualification of an emerging country at this level of competition is extremely rare. Is this event linked to the economic development of the Cherifian kingdom?
The correlation between economic development and football performance is very strong, shows a study conducted by sports economists – Stefan Szymanski and Melanie Krauze – over the period 1950-2014. Their conclusion: countries with a long experience of football, a very good level of development and very populated have, in fact, significant expertise and financial means to train the talents detected. They are in the best position to win the competition. Through this composite portrait, we immediately recognize the great football nations of Europe and South America. To join this elite, it is therefore necessary to combine all these characteristics.
Morocco ticks some of these boxes
It is a vigorous demography with 37 million inhabitants, plus 4 million abroad. And an economy in full transformation for twenty years. The kingdom has worked hard to emerge, developing an industry for export. And logically, the round ball took advantage of it. The football training center capable of competing with European equivalents is a testament to this. Its cost, thirteen million euros, is a heavy investment in terms of its level of development. The Mohammed-VI Academy was created in 2009 to train future players for the national team. It has, in part, fulfilled its mission this year, several of the players present in Qatar come from this school of excellence.
So Moroccans can dream of the final?
After beating big footballing countries like Belgium, Spain or Portugal, they have good reason to believe in it. But the history of the World Cup teaches us that when an emerging country reaches this level of competition, overcoming new obstacles becomes increasingly unlikely. Because if Morocco eliminates France, there will still be another great footballing nation to defeat: Argentina or Croatia.
It is comparable to the gap that separates emerging economies from advanced economies. Crossing it often seems out of reach. This year, a series of insults, Covid-19, drought, and now inflation, for example, are brutally curbing the growth of the Moroccan economy and setting it back years in terms of the fight against poverty.
France, big favorite of the semi-finals, is also one of the very first economic partners of the kingdom.
France is Morocco’s leading investor and Morocco the largest beneficiary of aid provided by the French Development Agency. But this apparent economic “submission” is not eternal. On this ground, as on the grass, the lines are moving between the two countries. In sub-Saharan Africa where Morocco is very active, it is perceived, rightly or wrongly, as a competitor of France. Moroccans dominate, for example, the banking sector formerly controlled by tricolor establishments.
In the field of defense and the industry that goes with it, Rabat is now counting on its rapprochement with Israel to develop an export sector. There is indeed an economic match between the former colonial power and the new middleweight of the continent. Paris has taken the measure and has just appointed a new ambassador to Rabat experienced in economic issues. Christophe Lecourtier was until then boss of Business France, the structure responsible for boosting the presence of French companies abroad. But on the lawn Wednesday evening, place for sport, and may the best win!
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