Achraf Hakimi is an idol across Africa Cup of Nations host country Morocco, but there is a particularly strong feeling of pride in Ksar El Kebir, his mother’s home town.
Far from the tumult of the six Cup of Nations host cities, including Casablanca and Marrakesh, Ksar El Kebir is a small provincial city of 120,000 inhabitants not far off the road linking the port of Tangiers to the capital, Rabat.
The mother of Paris Saint-Germain superstar Hakimi was born there before emigrating in her youth to Spain, where the current African footballer of the year was born in 1998.
“There are no Moroccans who are not proud of him, so imagine how we feel here,” says Hassan El Mouden, the 57-year-old owner of a cafe in the centre of town which regularly broadcasts matches from Spain’s La Liga.
Hakimi began his career at Real Madrid and made his senior debut for them in 2017 before eventually moving on to Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and then reigning European champions PSG.
Residents of Ksar El Kebir who spoke to AFP said their affection for Hakimi was not only down to the family ties to the city, but also to the player’s own values.
Taxi driver Hicham Ajto, 48, said the Morocco skipper was all about “perseverance, determination and hard work”, pointing to the player’s efforts to be fit for the Cup of Nations after suffering an ankle injury in action for his club in early November.
Residents recall the young Hakimi coming to the city with his mother during the summer holidays, and the player has given his name to a neighbourhood football pitch near the town centre.
“Everyone loves him here,” says 20-year-old student nurse Mouad Balla. “His tenacity makes him an example to all of us. He started from zero, and we all aspire to be like him.”
Souleimane Bounou, 15, who is part of the same local football team as Balla, dreams of following in Hakimi’s footsteps by becoming a professional player.
“I am proud to see Hakimi playing for our national team. I admire the confidence he has in himself,” the teenager says.
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Locals are confident that the right-back can help lead the side to glory as Morocco chase a first continental title in 50 years, with cafe owner El Mouden believing “his mere presence weighs on opposition teams”.
Speaking to AFP ahead of Friday’s quarter-final against Cameroon which the Atlas Lions won 2-0, El Mouden expected the streets to empty during the game before filling up after full-time for victory celebrations. He was proven correct.
On the periphery of town in a neighbourhood surrounded by fertile farming land close to the foothills of the Rif Mountains, another football ground named after Hakimi hosts matches of local amateur club Chabab Kasri.
Hakimi paid what local councillor Youssef Raissouni describes as a “historic visit” here after Morocco reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2022, becoming the first African and Arab country to do so.
Pictures of the superstar adorn the interior walls, including one of him with his mother.
Raissouni says the player’s visit propelled authorities to undertake a much-needed modernisation of the small stadium, “to bring it up to the standards expected for a stadium with such a name”.
Some critics accused local officials of using Hakimi’s visit for political means.
“If only all those in positions of authority were able to use star names for political means in order to help the towns they serve,” Raissouni adds in a retort to those critics.
The people of Ksar El Kebir are now keenly awaiting Morocco’s next game, as the hosts prepare for the Cup of Nations semi-finals against Nigeria on Wednesday.
— AFP
Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
