Morocco’s rise in global football is being powered by an unlikely source of funding: the country’s vast phosphate reserves, with the state fertilizer giant bankrolling the national team’s development.
OCP Group, the world’s largest phosphate fertilizer producer and exporter, has thrown its weight behind Moroccan football through a National Football Training Fund launched in 2024, joining forces with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and private funders to elevate the sport to new heights.
“We have this commitment to the development of the country,” said Hicham El Habti, president of the OCP-funded University of Mohammed VI Polytechnic and part of OCP’s strategic committee for innovation and learning, explaining why a fertilizer producer would invest in football under a “royal directive” for state-owned institutions.
“There’s a huge investment from OCP in the training fields. There is a partnership with FIFA,” said El Habti as Morocco prepare for their World Cup round-of-16 clash against co-hosts Canada in Houston on Saturday.
OCP’s recent contributions are not the start of the efforts Morocco has made to become more of a power in African and world football.
In 2009, King Mohammed VI directed the nation’s government to invest in the country’s football infrastructure, including pitches, training academies for youth, stadiums and professional coaches.
OCP joined the project in 2024 to take Moroccan football to another level.
It funds training academies, “equipping them with modern infrastructure, efficient facility management and advanced technical expertise,” said OCP when the fund was launched.
