The world of Moroccan sport is in mourning. The legend of national football, Ahmed Faras, died this Wednesday July 16, 2025, at the age of 78, after a long fight against illness. His death marks the end of an era and leaves a big void in the hearts of football fans in Morocco and Africa. Ahmed Faras remains an undeniable icon of Moroccan football. An emblematic captain of the national team in the 1970s, he led the Atlas Lions to their only continental title during the African Cup of Nations in 1976. A year earlier, he became the first Moroccan to win the African Ballon d’Or (1975), a distinction which crowned an exceptional career. Loyal to his lifelong club, Chabab Mohammédia, Faras spent his entire career there, from 1965 to 1982. With this club, he won the Botola (national championship) in 1980 and the Coupe du Trône twice. On the international scene, he scored 42 goals in 94 caps, a record that remained unmatched for a long time, establishing him as one of the best scorers in the history of Moroccan football. In an official statement, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, saluted « the memory of a great man, a patriot and an outstanding sportsman who left his mark on the history of national football. » His Majesty King Mohammed VI also sent a message of condolences to the family of the deceased and to the entire national sporting family, paying tribute to « an exemplary player who contributed, through his talent and commitment, to the influence of Morocco on the African and international scene. » The deceased was buried in his hometown of Mohammedia, where a large crowd came to pay their last respects. Political and sports figures, as well as former teammates and admirers attended his funeral. With the disappearance of Ahmed Faras, Morocco loses a monument of its sporting history. But his name, his exploits and his loyalty to the jersey will remain forever engraved in the collective memory of the country.
