3 days ago
Morocco Puts Inclusion at the Heart of Football at Benin Friendly
Rabat – Following Morocco's recent victory over Benin in a friendly match, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) quietly made a powerful statement.
Rather than letting the result stand alone, the Federation chose to mark the occasion by welcoming members of the Trésors 21, a Moroccan Association dedicated to helping people with Down syndrome.
Morocco played Benin on Monday evening at the Fez Grand Stadium and won 1-0, courtesy of a brilliant Ayoub El Kaabi's scissor kick.
The meeting gave new depth to what had been a routine sporting event and offered a gesture that reached far beyond the match itself.
This was not a grand announcement or a publicity move, but more of a celebratory gesture that reaffirms human solidarity and love no matter the differences.
Photos taken during this meeting show Achraf Hakimi, Yassine Bounou, and coach Walid Regragui, among other Moroccan football figures, taking time to meet with the children from the Trésors 21 association. In each frame, the mood is unmistakably warm, with genuine smiles, relaxed gestures, and a shared joy that needs no translation.
By creating this moment of exchange, the FRMF gave space to individuals who are too often kept on the sidelines of public life. It offered visibility not from the stands, but within the rhythm of the national team itself.
Football in Morocco carries more than goals and scores. It holds memory, pride, and identity.
On this occasion, it also held a mirror up to society. The match invited Moroccans to look again at what it means to belong to a team, to a country, to a shared moment.
The inclusion of Trésors 21 reminded everyone that difference does not weaken the collective. It enriches it. A child with Down syndrome cheering for the national team does not ask for permission to belong. They already do. The FRMF gesture simply acknowledged that truth.
In a stadium where unity often echoes louder than disagreement, the presence of Trésors 21 offered a quiet lesson: Morocco grows stronger when it carries everyone forward, not just the fastest, the loudest, or the most celebrated. Tags: Atlas Lionsdown syndromeFRMRMorocco footballTresors21
