A talent pipeline built in Salé has quietly become one of Moroccan football’s most reliable exports to Europe. The Mohammed VI Football Academy, inaugurated in 2009 and operational since 2010, was designed as a national elite training centre combining high-level sport with formal schooling. Its structure moves players through three stages: préformation for ages 12 to 14, spécialisation for 14 to 16, and professionnalisation for 16 to 18, with facilities built to international standards.
The academy’s stated aim was never limited to producing players for Morocco’s Botola. From the outset, it targeted preparation for European leagues as well. Under founding technical director Nasser Larguet, 47 of 57 players who passed through the main programme turned professional, with around 15 moving on to Europe. Academy officials now cite roughly 30 graduates competing in Europe as of 2025, alongside 26 playing in Morocco’s top division. Four academy products, including En-Nesyri and Ounahi, were instrumental in Morocco’s 2022 World Cup semifinal run, underscoring the academy’s growing influence on the senior national team.
That European pipeline runs through partnerships and scouting ties with clubs including Olympique Lyonnais, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Ajax Amsterdam, which have allowed academy players to move directly into youth or senior setups abroad.
The list of graduates now active in Europe includes some familiar names to followers of the Atlas Lions. Youssef En-Nesyri, a forward at Sevilla in La Liga, remains the academy’s most prominent product. Nayef Aguerd, formerly of Rennes and now in the Premier League, is another. Hamza Mendyl moved to Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga, while Azzedine Ounahi went on to Ligue 1 before further moves. Others, including Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti, Abdel Abqar, Oussama Targhalline, Yassir Zabiri and Amin Zahzouh, feature across various European leagues and registries.
France, in particular, has absorbed a large share of academy talent. Continental media reported around ten academy graduates registered at French clubs in 2023, among them Targhalline at Le Havre, Alaa Bellarouch at Strasbourg, Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal at Rennes, Yassine Khalifi at Lille and Hamza Koutoune at Nice. More recent transfers, including goalkeeper Chouai, suggest the flow toward French football continues rather than slowing.
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