The legendary Ahmed Faras, a member of Chabab Mohammedia and the Atlas Lions, paved the way in 1975. Following him, Morocco continued to write its history: in 1985, Mohamed Timoumi, an icon of AS FAR and the Lions, lifted the trophy. A year later, Badou Zaki, Wydad goalkeeper and hero of the 1986 World Cup, added his name to this legacy.
It was then necessary to wait until 1998 to see Mustapha Hadji bring Morocco back to the top of the continent again, after a brilliant year, carried by a remarkable 98 World Cup.
Today, twenty-seven years later, the torch is passed to Achraf Hakimi, a key player for PSG and a linchpin of the Atlas Lions. He has deserved it for a long time. He has remained motivated and consistent in his work, both with the national team and his club. Now, we hope that he will go even further at the AFCON, Mohamed Timoumi told Le360sport.
The 1985 African Player of the Year points out that Hakimi's achievement is also part of a national movement:"Everything that's happening in Morocco is incredible. The results are following at all levels: U17, U20, senior teams… This trophy validates his efforts, his runs, his matches. It shows the new generations that they, too, can become the best African player."
Read also: CAF Awards: Achraf Hakimi gives Morocco its 5th African Ballon d'Or
The same sentiment was echoed by Badou Zaki, legendary goalkeeper and current coach of Niger: He deserved it for years. In 2023, in 2024, and even this year according to France Football, he should have won it. Without him, Paris wouldn't have won the Champions League.
For Timoumi, the statuette is the culmination of a long and dedicated career. For Badou Zaki, it is merely a reflection of that: It's not the trophy that gives value to the player, it's the player who gives value to the trophy. He never gave up, even when Lookman won it in 2024 or Osimhen in 2023. He evolved, progressed, and he is the archetype of someone who has a goal and achieves it.
Touched by Yassine Bounou's latest accolade as best African goalkeeper, following his win in 2023, he also savors this continuity: Bounou is, for me, the best in the world, not just in Africa. Like Hakimi, he should have been first in the France Football rankings.
The last historical stalwart of Moroccan football can't help but reflect on his triumph: It's not easy to win the African Ballon d'Or as a goalkeeper. You have to compete with those who score goals. For me, the Africa Cup of Nations and then the World Cup helped me shine. It was a dream.
Even though the prize is individual, it reflects the success of the collective
— Mustapha Hadji
For his part, Mustapha Hadji, the penultimate Moroccan Ballon d'Or winner, praised the success as much individual as collective: Hakimi has been consistently at the top of his game for the last 5-6 years. Statistically, it's exceptional. But even if the award is individual, it reflects the success of the team. You don't succeed alone in football.
The former number 7 of the Lions remembers the symbolic weight of the trophy: In my day, facing a team with a Ballon d'Or winner changed the level of respect. Now, it's his turn to embody that.
Timoumi, Badou Zaki, and Hadji all agree on one point: Morocco has not finished producing stars:"With the talent coming through, we should normally have two or three per decade. Morocco is on the right track," concludes Mustapha Hadji.
Finally decorated individually, Achraf Hakimi is part of an exceptional trajectory, already remarkable without this trophy.
Now officially recognized as the best African player of the year, he enters a new dimension, that of the legends of Moroccan, African and world football.
Like an echo of the journey of the late Ahmed Faras, crowned in 1975 before giving Morocco its first, and to date last, continental title at the 1976 AFCON. And if, half a century later, Hakimi and the Atlas Lions were to follow in his footsteps?
