Morocco to train 40,000 volunteers by World Cup date

Morocco is preparing a training scheme for 40,000 volunteers, mostly university students, to ensure a better organization of the World Cup, chairman of the World Cup organizing committee Fouzi Lekjaa said.

The global event, to last seven weeks, would create at least 100,000 jobs in the Moroccan economy and attract at least 10 million visitors to the country, Lekjaa told the Moroccan employers’ confederation, CGEM.

The country is also preparing six stadiums and 32 training sites across Morocco for the World Cup, Lekjaa said.

The upgrade of Rabat and Tangier stadiums will be completed in two months, ahead of the African Cup of Nations in December, following which works to build the Hassan II stadium will kickstart along with the renovation of the host cities stadiums in Marrakech, Agadir and Fez, he said.

The financing of Morocco’s railway expansion program has been completed, he said, as Morocco prepares to extend the high-speed train service further south to Marrakech and boost the urban trains network, before the World Cup.

Meanwhile, Morocco is also expanding its airport capacity in Rabat, Marrakech and Casablanca, which is expected to serve as a hub for Africa.

The ambition for Casablanca hub goes in tandem with efforts by the flag carrier Royal Air Maroc to increase its fleet to 200 by 2035.

So far, the company has received between 11 and 13 new airplanes, Lekjaa said, urging the private sector to be actively involved in World Cup preparations.