From January 2024 until now, South African football has been on an upward trajectory. Bafana Bafana were bronze medalists at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte D’Ivoire, Amajimbos have qualified for the FIFA U17 World Cup, and Amajita are now competing in the AFCON U20 tournament.

"Congratulations to South Africa for having very good U17 and U20 national teams. The youth teams and some of the South African clubs are playing very well," said the Moroccan.

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Meanwhile, Ouahbi, who is leading his country’s team in this tournament in Egypt, says King Mohammed VI has been instrumental in the success of Moroccan football.

The North African country is carrying African football today, hosting the next WAFCON tournament, the senior AFCON, and recently hosting the U17 men’s AFCON.

They are also hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup jointly with Spain and Belgium, and Ouahbi says a lot of investment has taken place in this space.

"King Mohammed VI and our president of the Moroccan federation are very ambitious; they have given us all the means to be ambitious too in many different projects," explained Ouahbi.

Morocco’s success on the field can also be traced back to the last World Cup in 2022 in Qatar, where they became the first African country to reach the semifinals at the global event.

Ouahbi says that the success stories and investments in the academies are also starting to bear fruit.

Meanwhile, after his team just managed to beat their Kenyan counterparts 3-2 in the opening Group B game at this U20 AFCON, Ouahbi is backing the Rising Stars to go far in this competition.

Finished ICC CWC Challenge League B