Morocco plans to open school sports grounds to local communities

Speaking before the House of Representatives on Monday, Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports Mohamed Saad Berrada outlined a major local sports infrastructure program aimed at expanding access to playing fields across the country, with a particular focus on rural areas.

According to figures presented by the minister, more than MAD 500 million has been mobilized for the initiative. A total of 731 local sports grounds are scheduled for completion this year, while 48 existing facilities will be rehabilitated. An additional 30 infrastructures will also be integrated through the FIFA Arena program, bringing the national total to more than 800 neighborhood sports grounds.

Berrada said about 155 grounds currently under construction are being built inside primary schools, middle schools and high schools across the kingdom. The goal is to gradually open these facilities to residents of surrounding neighborhoods outside school hours, particularly during evenings, weekends and school holidays.

To make that possible, the ministry is preparing a new operating model for school-based sports grounds. The plan includes organizational rules allowing local youth and community associations to use the facilities while preserving school security.

It also includes physical separation between teaching areas and sports spaces, in addition to lighting and equipment adapted for evening use.

Berrada stressed that Morocco has more than 4,000 middle schools and high schools that could gradually be integrated into this model of shared community use.

The program also fits into the government’s broader preparations for major sporting events expected in the coming years. The minister noted that agreements had already been signed over the past two years with the municipalities of Casablanca and Rabat to build 250 sports grounds in each city, linking neighborhood sports policy to the country’s wider sports development strategy.