Fouzi Lekjaa
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Fouzi Lekjaa (
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
: ⴼⵓⵣⵉ ⵍⴻⵇⵊⴰⵄ ; born on 23 July 1970) is a senior Moroccan civil servant, sports executive and politician, who is the president of the
Royal Moroccan Football Federation The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (; Tamazight: ⵜⴰⵙⴷⴰⵡⵉⵜ ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⵖⵔⴰⴱⵉⵜ ⵏ ⵜⵡⵊⴰ ⵏ ⵓⴹⴰⵔ) is the governing body of football in Morocco. It was established in 1956. It beca ...
since 2014 and first vice president of the
Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the ''Grand Hotel'' in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Co ...
since 2025. He is also a member of the
FIFA Council The FIFA Council (formerly the FIFA Executive Committee) is an institution of FIFA (the governing body of association football, futsal and beach football). It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of FIFA Congress ...
since 2021. On 7 October 2021 he was appointed Minister Delegate for the Budget. He also holds the position of President of the CAF Finance Commission and Vice-President of the Commission in charge of the organization of interclub competitions and the management of the club licensing system within CAF. Since his appointment in 2017, he has overseen the management of the Mohammed VI Football Complex, inaugurated in 2019 in the presence of
King Mohammed VI Mohammed VI (; born 21 August 1963) is King of Morocco. A member of the Alawi dynasty, he acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Mohammed initially introduced several ...
. In 2023, he was again designated to chair the Committee in charge of the joint candidacy of Morocco, Spain and Portugal for the organization of the 2030 World Cup. Fouzi Lekjaa has been serving in the Akhannouch administration as the Minister Delegate in charge of the Budget since 2021. As soon as he was hired, he was in charge of allocating the 10 billion dirhams earmarked for financing the special programme intended to lessen the consequences of delayed rains in accordance with High Royal Directives.


Early life

Fouzi Lekjaa was born in
Berkane Berkane () is a city in northeastern Morocco, limited by the Mediterranean to the north, the Kis river (Moroccan-Algerian border) and Oujda Province in the east, Nador Province to the west, and Taourirt Province in the south. It is the capital o ...
on 23 July 1970, to a middle-class Amazigh family. He spent his childhood in this city where he obtained his baccalaureate before starting higher studies in
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
. His father is a former Arabic teacher who started his career in Berkane. As he specialized in sports and a graduate in agricultural engineering from the National School of Administration, Lekjaa began his career as a financial inspector. He was appointed head of the agricultural sector and compensation division at the budget department of the finance ministry in 2000. In the same year, he took on a role in the technical staff of the
RS Berkane Renaissance Sportive de Berkane () commonly referred to as Nahdat Berkane or RS Berkane for short, is a Moroccan professional football club based in Berkane, that competes in Botola, the top flight of Moroccan football. Founded on 21 May 1938 a ...
team, an amateur club playing in the Moroccan third division. He takes part in the club's infrastructure projects and gradually builds governance, organization and professionalization of the club with the help of his financial resources. Its improvement work allows the validation of several lawns in the Berkane region as well as the development of several amateur clubs in the best conditions. Lekjaa gained notoriety in 2009 when he became the manager of his hometown club, the Berkane Sports Renaissance. It sets up a training center based in the same city for young talents evolving in the city, but also elsewhere in Morocco.


Administrative career


Entry into the management of RS Berkane

In 2009, Lekjaa was appointed president of the Berkane Sports Renaissance Club. Having created financial stability within the club, several sponsors come forward. In two seasons, he managed to get his club up to
Botola Pro The Botola Pro (), officially known as the Botola Pro Inwi for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Morocco and the top tier of the Moroccan football league system. Organized by the Ligue Nationale de Football Pro ...
, from which the club had been absent since 1984. RS Berkane knew in such a short time a huge margin of financial and sporting progress. Lekjaa quickly created a bond of friendship with
Ilyas El Omari Ilyas El Omari (; born 1967 in Bni Bouayach) is a  Moroccan politician. He headed the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, and headed the Akhir Saâ press group, and was formerly General Secretary of Authenticity and Modernity Party The Authen ...
, club president at
Chabab Rif Al Hoceima Chabab Rif Al-Hoceima, also referred to as CRA, is a Moroccan football club based in Al Hoceima Al Hoceima () is a city in the north of Morocco, on the northern edge of the Rif Mountains and on the Mediterranean coast. It is the capital city ...
, who also has the same background as him.


Presidency of the FRMF

Lekjaa has been the president of the
Royal Moroccan Football Federation The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (; Tamazight: ⵜⴰⵙⴷⴰⵡⵉⵜ ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⵖⵔⴰⴱⵉⵜ ⵏ ⵜⵡⵊⴰ ⵏ ⵓⴹⴰⵔ) is the governing body of football in Morocco. It was established in 1956. It beca ...
(FRMF) since 13 April 2014, when he succeeded Ali Fassi Fihri. Under his leadership, he quickly established a structure within the federation by developing 16 clubs in Moroccan D1 and 16 clubs in D2. The amateur class has a hundred clubs organized in regional league. At the level of each league, there are on average 120 clubs. The president obliges each club, of all levels, to have at least three classes of young people: the U17s, the U20s and the hopes. It modernizes and professionalizes infrastructure developments across the country. Lekjaa is also building political will with King Mohammed VI, where the two men invest together in football projects. In a record time of five years, they managed to launch the construction of the Mohammed VI complex in
Salé Salé (, ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Along with some smaller nearby towns, Rabat and Salé form together a single m ...
. The complex is spread over 30 hectares and houses a capacity of 480 young footballers. It has nine training rooms, a covered room, a medical clinic that covers 400 square meters. This project cost $65,000,000. It was inaugurated in 2019. On 25 June 2022, was reelected president of the
Royal Moroccan Football Federation The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (; Tamazight: ⵜⴰⵙⴷⴰⵡⵉⵜ ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⵖⵔⴰⴱⵉⵜ ⵏ ⵜⵡⵊⴰ ⵏ ⵓⴹⴰⵔ) is the governing body of football in Morocco. It was established in 1956. It beca ...
(FRMF), during the elective general assembly of the Federation, held Friday at the Mohammed VI complex in Maamora. Lekjaa submitted his candidacy for the position on June 4, and was the only candidate, running for his third term in the same position. On 1 October 2022,
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
announced its willingness to host the
2025 Africa Cup of Nations The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, also referred to as AFCON 2025 or CAN 2025, is scheduled to be the 35th edition of the biennial African football tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It will be hosted by Morocco fo ...
, after it was stripped from
Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
. On 27 September 2023,
CAF CAF or caf may refer to: Armed forces *Canadian Armed Forces (Canadian Forces), the Canadian Air Force, Army, and Navy *Canadian Air Force, now the Royal Canadian Air Force *Republic of China Air Force, the air force of the Republic of China (Tai ...
announced that Morocco will host the 35th edition of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025.


Member of the CAF Council

In July 2017, he had been the 2nd vice-president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). On 2 April 2021, Lekjaa was Reappointed as Chairman of CAF Finance Committee. On 13 March 2023, Algeria’s state media accused Lekjaa of “corruption” and “manipulation”, this led to a campaign across social media platforms demanding Lekjaa exit from the CAF Committee. On 26 April 2025, Lekjaa was elected first vice-president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) at an executive committee meeting in
Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...
on Saturday.


Member of the FIFA Council

In March 2021, he was elected to the FIFA Council.


Member of the Union of Arab Football Associations

On 17 June 2021, Lekjaa was Elected Member of Executive Council of Arab Football Associations Union.


2022 FIFA World Cup

On 28 December 2022, Lekjaa launched an investigation into the potentially illegal sale of
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
tickets. and ticketing problems in the Round of 16 Morocco vs Spain match. On 8 March, Lekjaa confirmed the investigation is near to end, claiminig the results will be out “very soon,” revealing the federation’s determination to “end the career” of those responsible for the tickets fiasco. On 8 May 2023, Two individuals suspected behind the world scandal were taken in for questioning at the prosecutor’s office in the Court of First Instance of
Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
on Monday, one was a club manager and the other was a radio host. Mohammed El Haidaoui, and radio host Adil El Omari were charged for fraud.


2030 FIFA World Cup

On 16 June 2023, King Mohammed VI assigned Lekjaa as the president of Morocco's Bid Committee. On 4 October 2023, The
FIFA Executive Committee The FIFA Council (formerly the FIFA Executive Committee) is an institution of FIFA (the governing body of association football, futsal and beach football). It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of FIFA Congr ...
has unanimously accepted the Morocco-Spain-Portugal bid as a candidate to host the
2030 FIFA World Cup The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be the 24th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. Three countries will host the competition, representing, for the ...
. Next Day, King Mohammed VI appointed Lekjaa as the Chairman of 2030 World Cup Committee.


Honours

*
Ydnekatchew Tessema Yidnekatchew Tessema (Amharic: ይድነቃቸው ተሠማ; 11 September 1921 – 19 August 1987) was an Ethiopian professional footballer who played as a striker. football career He played for his school for five years, for the first Eth ...
Trophy for the Federation President of the Year: 2018 *Best federation president in the
Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
awarded by
Sky News Arabia Sky News Arabia (stylized as Sky News ; ) is an Arabic 24-hour rolling news channel broadcast mainly operated in the Middle East and North Africa. It is a joint venture between UK-based Sky Group and the UAE-based International Media Investment ...
: 2023


Orders

*
Order of the Throne The Order of the Throne () is a state decoration of the Kingdom of Morocco awarded for distinguished services of a civil or military nature. The Order was instituted on 16 May 1963 by King Hassan II of Morocco, who reigned between 1961 and 199 ...
: 2022


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lekjaa, Fouzi 1970 births Living people Association football executives People from Berkane Moroccan football chairmen and investors