FIFA Champions Cup: Arsenal vs Royal Army – Who is the Moroccan team facing Arsenal?

What is striking is the word.

Over the past decade, Morocco has transformed from an outlier in women’s football to one of the most dominant nations in Africa. This transformation was the result of huge investments from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) and the Moroccan government.

In 2020, the government made the decision to fund every team in the top two divisions of women’s football, and pay the wages of players, coaches and medical staff. Overnight, these two divisions went from practically amateur to professional.

Each of the 14 teams in the top flight has 13 designated players who are paid $500 (£369) a month directly by the federation. Seven other players receive $350 (£259) while coaches receive $500. It’s modest, but this money is just a baseline, effectively a universal basic income.

Clubs then pay salaries on top of that, with the top players in the league earning upwards of $2,000 (£1,475) a month.

“I’m just sorry for myself because I wanted to live this moment when I was a player,” says Khadija Ella, a former player and president of the Moroccan league. “But when I see the girls living the dream now, I feel like I’m living it.”

“Twenty years ago, you might have asked: Is anyone playing in Morocco?” Now we are African champions and we will play Arsenal.”