HIBAPRESS – MAP
Yesterday, Sunday in Barcelona, the sports and cultural project "Leoncillos" was presented, which is dedicated to discovering and promoting young football talents from the Moroccan community residing in Catalonia. The event was attended by prominent figures from the worlds of sports, diplomacy, and media.
This project, launched in partnership with the General Consulate of the Kingdom in Barcelona, aims to monitor and support young football players of Moroccan origin active in the Catalonia region, known as one of the most prominent football reservoirs in Europe. In a speech on the occasion, the Consul General of the Kingdom in Barcelona, Nezha Tahraoui, highlighted the strategic dimension of this project, which falls within the core of the national dynamic aimed at valuing the competencies of the Moroccan community abroad, especially in the sports field. In this context, she pointed to the successes and football influence achieved by a number of young talents of Moroccan origin within the Catalan clubs, reflecting the great potential that the Moroccan community in northeastern Spain possesses. Mrs. Tahraoui also stressed the importance of providing an organized framework for these young people, ensuring their personal development, social integration, and their contribution to the radiance of national sport, in line with the insightful vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in the field of promoting sports, especially women's football and youth training. In this regard, she affirmed the commitment of the General Consulate of the Kingdom in Barcelona to accompany and support the various stages of implementing this project. For his part, the owner of the "Leoncillos" project, the national sports director residing in Catalonia, Charaf Eddine Belabbas, explained that the project aims to establish a framework for the initial selection of Moroccan football players aged between 15 and 18 years old who are active in the region's clubs, while enhancing their technical training, with the aim of building a solid base of future elite players. He added that the program, in addition to its sports dimension, seeks to value the identity dimension by strengthening the sense of belonging to a tripartite culture: Moroccan, Catalan, and Spanish. According to Mr. Belabbas, "Leoncillos" aims to make football a lever for integration, social cohesion, and intercultural dialogue, by establishing the values of leadership, team spirit, and recognition of diversity as fundamental pillars of integration. For his part, former Moroccan international player and winner of the African Golden Ball, Mohamed Timoumi, described the "Leoncillos" project as a model initiative, capable of enriching national football by attracting new talents from the ranks of the community. He also praised this initiative, which strengthens the ties between Morocco and its children residing abroad, reminding that sports success is based on discipline, perseverance, and adherence to the cultural and sporting values of the motherland.
