As Morocco prepares to host the Africa Cup of Nations, Oujda is experiencing a real sporting buzz. This vitality is not limited to the tournament itself: it also stems from local initiatives and development efforts, notably thanks to the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) in the Oujda-Angad prefecture, which has enabled the creation and equipping of indoor facilities accessible to young people and all segments of the population.
In these facilities, football has found an organized framework: what was once a spontaneous game in the alleys and neighborhoods has transformed into a structured practice, offering young people a space to hone their skills and channel their energy.
As Hamza, a member of a local team, sums it up, the gym offered us a valuable opportunity to play football in a structured and more professional environment, after years spent playing in the street, with all the energy expended and the risks that entailed.Young people come to the gym once or twice a week to develop their skills and let off steam:
We come here to improve our abilities and especially to release the negative energy we accumulate,,” Adam, a player and member of a local team, tells us. These spaces thus serve as an outlet from the constraints of daily life: Young people arrive stressed by their studies and obligations. Here, they can release the pressure, adds Khalil Bouâarfa, coach of a local club in Oujda.
The facility in question was inaugurated in 2016 as part of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), with the support of several partners. Spanning over 2,000 square meters, it offers facilities for a variety of sports: football, basketball, volleyball, and handball. It hosts more than 25 associations and clubs each year and houses a sports academy dedicated to football and basketball. This academy plays a key role in identifying and training young talent, who then feed into local clubs and, ultimately, national teams, and even the Moroccan national team.
In this context, Ilham Abdlaoui, director of the Al-Taqaddom indoor sports hall, highlights the crucial role of these facilities for women and girls. She believes they create a safe space that promotes various physical activities, such as aerobics, thus offering major health and social benefits for both residents of the surrounding neighborhoods and the city of Oujda as a whole. This open access for all reinforces the inclusive nature of the sports projects supported within the framework of development, making sports a real lever for social integration, she adds.
As Khalil points out, these rooms are a true space for personal growth, not just for young people, but for everyone: children, women, seniors. Everyone can benefit from them.
The network comprises a total of six halls and twenty fields, built during the different phases of the INDH. The third phase aims to complement this strategy by facilitating the integration of young people into the job market through sport and by supporting their personal projects, as demonstrated by the Tibu Africa project, which opens up new perspectives for young people to integrate professionally through sports practice.
As the countdown to the start of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations begins, these indoor sports facilities continue to play a vital role in Oujda. Combining sport, learning, and community, these facilities embody Morocco's investment in developing local talent and promoting sports participation accessible to all.
