Luqach: I don't know a Spaniard named Jamal.

The president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, confirmed that the Moroccan federation respected the decision of young Barcelona star Lamine Yamal to represent the Spanish national team, emphasizing that this issue did not affect the nature of the relationship with the player or his family members, and that the Moroccan football project goes beyond dealing with such cases in terms of profit and loss.

Lekjaa's statements came in the documentary "Inside: The Rise of Moroccan Football," produced by Onze Mondial magazine, which discussed the development of Moroccan football since the historic achievement of the Moroccan national team in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, along with the changes in training policies and the attraction of Moroccan talents both within the kingdom and abroad.

Lekjaa stated that the federation respected the player's decision from the beginning, adding: "We respected Jamal's choice, and we never objected to it, nor did our dealings with him or his family change." He added in a sarcastic tone: "I don't know a Spaniard named Jamal," referring to the player's Arabic name who chose to represent the Spanish national team.

The president emphasized that Lamine Yamal's family is still connected to Morocco and regularly spends their holidays in the northern regions of the kingdom, confirming that they will always be welcomed, regardless of the sporting decision made by the player regarding the national team he represents.

Lekjaa believes that the development of Moroccan football in recent years has made the national sports project more attractive to Moroccan talents around the world, considering that the federation does not deal with cases of dual nationality players in terms of frustration or pride, but rather within a framework based on respecting the freedom of choice.

He added that the success of a player of Moroccan descent with the Spanish national team, which he described as a neighboring and friendly country, also falls within the scope of the globalization of football, emphasizing that the presence of Moroccan players or those of Moroccan descent in the largest national teams and clubs worldwide reflects the quality of training and the human resources that Morocco possesses.

The documentary, which lasts 45 minutes, covers various stages of building the Moroccan football project, from developing infrastructure and training centers to mechanisms for discovering talents inside and outside Morocco. It also includes testimonies from several Moroccan national team players, including Achraf Hakimi and Yassine Bounou, as well as officials in the technical administration, including Fathi Jamal and Mohamed Wahbi, discussing the foundations upon which the Moroccan football renaissance has been built in recent years.