.The Egyptian league attracts "stars of the Moroccan championship" with financial and marketing incentives. | Dimalions
The Egyptian league attracts "stars of the Moroccan championship" with financial and marketing incentives.
6 days ago
Sport
The Egyptian league attracts "stars of the Moroccan championship" with financial and marketing incentives.
Hesspress Sports·
The transfer of players from the national league to the Egyptian league is no longer just isolated cases; it has become a phenomenon that is expanding with the continuous departure of prominent names to Egyptian clubs. The latest of these is the top scorer of the last season, Soufiane Benjdida, who moved from Maghreb Fez to Al Ahly.
In light of the allure of large financial offers, Moroccan players are tempted to embark on new experiences and improve their financial situations. This growing migration raises questions about the ability of national clubs to retain their talents and benefit from their sporting and economic value, at a time when Egyptian clubs succeed in turning player recruitment into a marketable investment that generates significant financial returns, whether through European leagues or towards the Gulf.
One player agent believes that the national league is characterized by strength, considering the quality of its players and their skill sets, as well as the intelligence of Moroccan players in managing matches.
The same speaker called on clubs to provide greater opportunities for young players, especially those aged between 17 and 18 years.
He cited the examples of Lamine Yamall and Ayoub Bouaddi, who are considered among the best players on the international stage, emphasizing that Moroccan teams relying more on young players could lead to a significant annual migration of national league players to European leagues.
He recalled the experience of RS Berkane, which gave opportunities to several players at a young age, including Mohamed Bouldini and Ayoub Nanah, highlighting that the struggles of Raja Casablanca and Wydad Casablanca during the current period are due to a lack of stability, criticizing the strategy of frequently changing players and their continuous movement between different teams within the national league.
The same speaker referenced the example of RS Berkane, which loaned both Cameroonian Baba Bilo Ailo to Hassania Agadir and Younes Bahraoui to Kawkab Marrakech.
He explained that the players gained a greater opportunity to play and prove themselves through these loans, which led to their transfers to the Gulf and financial benefits for the Berkane team.
He pointed out that the largest global leagues take age into account, confirming that the national league consists of 16 teams, which either aim to compete for titles or participate to avoid relegation to the second division, while major leagues focus on the quality of player development.
The same agent noted that football has become an investment aimed at achieving significant financial returns and resources.
He mentioned, in the context of Benjdida's transfer to Al Ahly, that the Egyptian team only entered the deal because it was confident of benefiting from selling the player in the future, in addition to benefiting from his services to strengthen the team.
He pointed out that the Egyptian team excels in the process of selling players, unlike Moroccan clubs, most of which still lack professionalism in marketing players, reiterating the need to promote players from youth categories and criticizing the high average age among the largest teams in the national league.
Regarding the impact of the transfer of national league stars to the Egyptian league, a source from Hespress stated that the only benefit from these transfers is the increase in player value, noting that Morocco currently has sports infrastructure considered the best of its kind on the continent; however, it needs young talents to enhance the value of the professional league.
He concluded by emphasizing that Egyptian teams are the most benefited from these transfers, as they succeed in marketing players for amounts he described as astronomical.
For his part, another agent believes that the primary factor behind the growing phenomenon of players transferring to the Egyptian league is the players' desire to improve their financial situation.
The agent, who requested anonymity, stated to Hespress that most players who moved to Egypt were earning amounts ranging from 1.8 million to 3 million dirhams, highlighting that Egyptian teams offer them amounts reaching 10 million dirhams annually or more.
In this context, Majid Khal, a sports analyst, stated that the increase in the transfer of Moroccan league stars to the Egyptian league is not a coincidence; rather, it is the result of several factors, the most important of which is the significant financial capacity of Egyptian clubs, which have become able to offer salaries and offers that most Moroccan clubs find difficult to match, along with the strong media and fan competition that makes the Egyptian league an attractive destination for players.
Khal added to Hespress that this phenomenon has two sides, explaining that it gives Moroccan players the opportunity to play professionally in a competitive league and improve their technical and financial levels, while also contributing to highlighting the quality of training provided by Moroccan clubs.
However, on the other hand, the same sports analyst believes that if the massive migration of top players continues without clubs being able to retain their stars, it could affect the technical level of the national league and reduce its attractiveness and market value, especially if players leave at a young age and before reaching their peak performance in the Moroccan league.
Majid Khal concluded that the solution does not lie in preventing player transfers, but rather in enhancing the competitiveness of Moroccan clubs by improving financial resources, increasing contract values, and developing governance and marketing, so that retaining stars becomes a feasible option, not just a wish.
