Jamal Fakir (born 30 August 1982) is a Moroccan

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays as a or for the

Lézignan Sangliers Lézignan may refer to: In geography: * Lézignan, Hautes-Pyrénées Lézignan (; oc, Lesinhan) is a village and commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. Located around 11 miles (16 km) south of Tarbes, in 2010 ...

club in the

Elite One Championship Elite 1 is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions worl ...

Background

Fakir was born in

Fez, Morocco Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 m ...

. He is

Moroccan Moroccan may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to the country of Morocco * Moroccan people * Moroccan Arabic, spoken in Morocco * Moroccan Jews See also * Morocco leather Morocco leather (also known as Levant, the French Maro ...

-French.

Career

Fakir caught the attention of

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...

and French

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

sides before the Dragons' entry into Super League in 2006. After a strong debut season in Super League, Fakir's progress has been hampered by two serious knee injuries, firstly a ruptured patella tendon sustained in late 2006, and then cruciate ligament damage sustained in May 2007 which ended his season. Fakir was named in the France training squad for the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final b ...

. He was named in the France squad for the

. Fakir became a Moroccan international in 2009. He agreed to switch codes in May 2010 to play

, and intended to join

Castres Olympique Castres Olympique () is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the top level of the French league system. Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They play at the St ...

on a one-year deal at the beginning of the 2010/2011 season. In addition to his deal with Castres he also had interest from Scottish club

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

. Fakir however reversed his decision and decided to stay with the Catalans for a further three seasons. Capped for France against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

in the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's Festival of World Cup ...

group play round 2, coming off the bench to make an impact in the loss. On 3 April 2014, Fakir signed for

team

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pre ...

. He played in the

2014 European Cup The 2014 European Cup was an international rugby league football tournament. The tournament took place in England, Wales, France, Ireland and Scotland between 17 October and 2 November. It was announced beforehand that the winner of the tournamen ...

References

External links

Super League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fakir, Jamal 1982 births Living people Catalans Dragons players France national rugby league team players French sportspeople of Moroccan descent French rugby league players French rugby union players Lézignan Sangliers players Moroccan rugby union players Moroccan rugby league players Morocco national rugby league team players People from Fez, Morocco RC Baho XIII coaches Rugby league second-rows