The Moroccan Federation of Sports Professionals (FMPS), created in 2021, launched, in collaboration with the federal agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the consulting firm IN&Sport, an annual study entitled “The weight of the sports industry in Morocco”.
The first feedback from the said study was presented to professionals in the sector during the Africa Sports Expo which took place in Casablanca in June 2023. In the absence of existing data for all the segments making up this industry, the FMPS opted first for work focused on the scope of activities of its members. In total, there are more than 300 companies, employing more than 11,500 employees (including 24% women) and generating a cumulative turnover of 21.16 billion dirhams. The only private sports sector represented by the FMPS therefore represents 1.56% of Morocco’s GDP. It is also appropriate to integrate jobs dedicated to sport in different segments such as construction or tourism which will undoubtedly be hiring to support the ambitious policy of hosting major events. By international extrapolation, we can reasonably retain the figure of 30,000 jobs. “Through this study, we wish to demonstrate that sport is an industry in its own right that has nothing to envy of other sectors. In addition to having a direct impact on our fellow citizens on a social and health level, sport weighs on our economy by creating added value and employment,” said Mehdi Sekkouri, president of the FMPS. For his part, Vincent Chaudel – Partner of IN&Sport, underlined that “the award of the co-organization of the 2030 World Cup is a real opportunity to strengthen and develop the sports industry for which Morocco has real assets such as its youth, its economic dynamism, its tourist potential…”. Association sport, a multidimensional potential to support In the absence of an official publication for all federations, the information collected reveals the existence of at least 350,000 licensees spread over 5,000 sports associations. Whatever the actual number of licensees in Morocco, it will remain much lower than that of “free” practice which, according to the extrapolations carried out in this study, is estimated at 10 million Moroccans. In order to supervise these 10 million practitioners, and based on international ratios, we estimate the number of jobs to be at least 50,000 in the associative sector. A “public” sport that counts! Between the different services of the Ministry of Sports or Youth, public establishments such as the Executive Training Institute or the Mohammed VI Academy, the Socio-Sports Centers and all the “sport” staff employed by National Education, there are at least 25,000 civil servants, and therefore as many contributors to the development of the sports industry. Another element to take into consideration in terms of “public service”, the practice of sport is likely to reduce health costs. According to a report from the WHO and the OECD, increasing physical activity could save billions each year. For an even stronger Moroccan sports industry! If the private sports sector alone (FMPS scope) in Morocco weighs at least 1.56% of GDP and employs more than 11,500, we can estimate that the sports industry in the Kingdom exceeds the mark of 2.5% of GDP and 115,000 jobs by simple integration of associative and public sector jobs. For comparison, the sports industry in France (excluding investment) weighs 53 billion euros (BPCE study of 2023) or 2.2 of GDP. The simple private sector of French sport (FMPS scope) represents 1.2% of GDP.
source: laquotidienne.ma
