Online Reporter
Howard Musonza
Zimpapers Sports Hub Editor
MORE than a year after ZIFA signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Morocco is once again giving Zimbabwe a live case study of what structured football development can produce.
The Atlas Lions yesterday reached the quarter finals at the ongoing FIFA World Cup after beating Canada 3-0.
As Morocco continues to raise the bar on the biggest stage, Zimbabwe is still waiting to see what measurable gains have flowed from the partnership signed in March 2025.
If Zimbabwe signed up to learn from Morocco, what exactly has been learnt, implemented or transferred since March 2025?
An MoU is only as valuable as what follows it. Signing ceremonies make headlines. Delivery changes football.
When ZIFA president Nqobile Magwizi and his Moroccan counterparts signed the two-year agreement, it was presented as one of the first major international partnerships of his administration.
The agreement covered grassroots football, coach education, referee development, football administration, youth and women’s football, exchange programmes, technical visits and friendly matches involving senior and junior national teams.
Morocco has become Africa’s benchmark because it fixed the system before chasing trophies.
Its rise was built on long-term investment in academies, coach education, sports science, infrastructure, women’s football and one of the continent’s strongest diaspora scouting networks.
The Mohammed VI Football Academy became the heartbeat of that vision. The national teams adopted a common football philosophy. The domestic league became more professional. The federation invested in technical development instead of quick fixes.
Morocco became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final in 2022. Today it is again carrying Africa’s hopes after becoming the continent’s first representative in the Round of 16. That was precisely what Zimbabwe signed up for, but there has been one tangible outcome.
During the June 2025 FIFA international window, the Warriors held a training camp in Morocco and played friendlies against Burkina Faso and Niger in Casablanca.
The camp also helped Zimbabwe acclimatise ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, which Morocco hosted later that year.
Beyond the Warriors’ camp, the paper trail quickly runs cold.
How many Zimbabwean coaches have benefitted from Moroccan technical programmes under the MoU?
Which referees have received training?
Which youth teams have travelled?
Where are the technical attachments?
What programmes have been introduced for women’s football?
What technical knowledge has Morocco transferred to Zimbabwe that was not here before?
These are the questions that naturally follow a partnership presented as a vehicle for football development. If more has happened behind the scenes, ZIFA has not told the football public.
One year is long enough to move beyond promises.
No one expects Morocco’s success to be replicated overnight, but there should be visible signs that Zimbabwe is moving in the same direction. Development is measured by actions, not intentions.
If the partnership is working, the football public should be able to see it, understand it and measure its impact. Magwizi has consistently pointed to Morocco as a model Zimbabwe wants to emulate.
Some of ZIFA’s domestic priorities, including the Roots Impact youth programme, provincial junior teams, stronger grassroots structures, women’s football and the professionalisation of administration, mirror the philosophy behind Morocco’s success.
Morocco did not become a global force by talking about development. It built academies, trained coaches, modernised administration, invested in facilities, strengthened women’s football and created clear pathways from grassroots to the senior national team. It stayed committed to that vision for almost two decades.
Zimbabwe cannot replicate Morocco overnight. It does not have the same resources or economic muscle.
The agreement now needs measurable outcomes. Those answers matter far more than photographs from a signing ceremony.
Morocco are still giving Africa lessons in football development.
Zimbabwe signed up to sit in that classroom.
More than a year later, the football public deserves to know what has been learnt.
