Morocco’s Education-Sports Merger: A Recipe for Disaster?
Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Mohamed Ouzzine, has voiced serious concerns over the current Moroccan government’s decision to merge the Ministry of National Education with the Ministry of Youth and Sports. He criticizes the move, calling it a “governmental engineering [project] lacking in political engineering” and a “marriage against nature.”
Ouzzine, speaking at a meeting of the Education and Communication Committee in the House of Representatives, argues that the government excels at creating catchy titles but fails to deliver on substance. He points to the current Minister of Education, Chakib Benmoussa, stating that he is “completely absent from the sports–ministry-appointments/” title=”Morocco's New Government: Akhannouch Appoints Ministers, Creates Sports Ministry”>sports sector, except if he reduces sport only to football.”
This critique carries a sharp edge, as Ouzzine himself was ousted from his position as Minister of Youth and Sports in 2015 following the ”karate scandal.” This controversy involved allegations of corruption and mismanagement within the Moroccan karate federation. Ouzzine warns Benmoussa that he risks facing a similar fate if his management of the newly merged ministry is characterized by the same lack of oversight.
Ouzzine argues that the “karate scandal” was a symptom of a larger problem: the deeply rooted culture of corruption within Moroccan sports. He highlights the issue of inflated salary masses within sports federations, stating that globally, salary masses should not exceed 20% of a federation’s budget. In Morocco, however, this figure often surpasses 50%, leaving little funding for athlete development and infrastructure.
“If you are strict on this issue,” Ouzzine warns Benmoussa, “you risk your position and you will end up facing the fate of ‘karate’.” He alleges that some federation presidents prioritize nepotism, hiring relatives and further bloating salary masses.
Ouzzine advocates for a bottom-up approach to sports development, emphasizing the importance of grassroots participation. He draws a stark comparison between Morocco and other nations, noting that while France boasts 300,000 registered badminton players and the United States has 40 million registered golfers, Morocco struggles to reach 8,000 registered athletes across various sports.
He uses golf as an example, challenging the perception that it is an elitist sport in Morocco. He argues that with democratization efforts and integration into school programs, golf, like other sports, has the potential to flourish.
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