Fifth season of "Golden Foot" takes on a Maghreb dimension

10/07/2008

The fifth season of Morocco's popular football reality show "Golden Foot" will include contestants from other Maghreb countries for the first time in programme history.

By Mawassi Lahcen for Magharebia in Casablanca – 10/07/08

[Mawassi Lahcen] Former footballer Aziz Bouderbala speaks to youths eager to join the fifth season of the "Golden Foot" football talent search. This year, the Moroccan show includes participants from other Maghreb countries.

With the start of summer, the fifth season of football talent search "Golden Foot" kicked off on Morocco's Channel 1. For the first time in the show's history, 16 young men from Maghreb countries outside Morocco will participate in what some people call the "Star Academy of football".

Sixty hopefuls between the ages of 15 and 17 entered the show's training camp in Casablanca on Saturday (July 5th). Over the next three months, viewers will watch the contestants as they go through all the stages of physical and psychological preparations for the final match, which will produce the champion of the season. Eleven more players will be chosen in the final match and all will have the chance to enrol in France's Le Havre centre to improve their skills, which will open doors professionally for successful contestants.

While in training camp, the aspiring footballers will meet a number of Moroccan and international players. Winners will be chosen based on votes from viewers and judging by professional players and trainers.

The show travelled to seven Maghreb cities, like Nouakchott, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, to select the regional candidates. Representatives also stopped in Brussels to give a chance to Maghreb players living in Europe.

"I can't describe what I felt every time I met those enthusiastic young players," said Moroccan football player Aziz Bouderbala. They are ambitious and filled with "a strong desire to show their talents and abilities."

Bouderbala, head of the judging panel, said the tour was successful but difficult. He noted that many young players came from remote areas across the Maghreb to participate in the show. This year even saw two young players come from Canada and the United States to take part in the competition.

One of the most remarkable moments during this year's tour, Bouderbala said, was the participation by one young man from Agadir with an amputated arm. His disability didn't curb his ambition to become a professional player in the future.

The inclusion of players from outside Morocco was an early concern for the organisers.

"At first, we were afraid it wouldn’t succeed," said producer Othmane Ben Abdejlil. "However, we were very surprised to see the good reception the idea has had."

The show's organisers were also pleasantly surprised, Ben Abdejlil said, by Golden Foot's good reputation and large audience in other Maghreb countries.

Othmane noted that the Maghreb expansion also extended to the judges. One of the judges is Algerian international player Said Haddouch, who lives in Belgium, where he works as a coaching trainer. Another judge is former Egyptian international Nader Al Sayed, who expressed a desire to include Egypt in future competitions.

Previous seasons of Golden Foot have enabled a number of participants to join Moroccan and foreign teams after showcasing their considerable talents to television viewers across the region.