The trip, like I said, was very informative and revealing of what football still means and is in small border towns across from Algeria. Oujda, before Morocco closed the border with Algeria in 1994, was a bustling and important gate to the desert but now, it is the end of the line. It is where the train stops, where the bus route ends, where things begin to stand still. Appropriately, women's football is no different. I met with a team, the team, over the weekend. They are mostly friends from their local high school and have been gathered and organized by an enthusiastic PE coach (male). Several of the girls attended the camp in Bouznika as well as my camp this past summer. Several of the girls, great players, travel to Casablanca on weekends, making that 10 hour trip, just to play with a team here. There is nothing for them in Oujda. They want to joint the national league but to do that they need to play at least three other teams in the region, in order to officially be able to play in the national championship. Three other teams no problem right? They are the only team in the region, that is where the problem lies. So they are stuck, with no money to travel and improve their game against teams in other cities and no ability to play within the national Moroccan framework because of bureaucratic obstacles.
They recently approached the local men's team, an actually very good and historical club in Morocco called Mouloudiya. The team's manager said they will take the team, incorporate them into the club and that is where the conversation ended. I met with the club's managing team and was basically asked by them for a new field for the girls because there is not enough field space for everyone. Everyone, they mean the two other boys teams that play. Fortunately I don't have the ability to build fields for cities so hopefully this team will figure out how to "squeeze" the girls in.
The ideas toward women's football in Oujda is still a bit conservative. It is true too that they are just far from the metropoles of Morocco, such as Casablanca and Rabat, where many more advances in the game and many more opportunities exist. However, I think the discussion is too focused on what is lacking and not focused enough on what can be done with what there is because of the hesitation in ceding that space and attention to the women from the men. The dialogue is still dominated by men, who know best. It was extremely refreshing to speak with the manager of Mouloudiya, who was a woman, because she was literally in a man's world. She was this really dynamic woman, master's in Sports Management and there on her merit rather than because she was a big former footballer with the club. That in and of itself gives me some hope that the club's perspective is headed in the right direction because they would hire someone like that in the first place.
I realized in the end that my contribution or help is very limited. My capabilities allow me to bring some attention to Oujda, create some buzz through camps and US women's teams touring through the area but that is it. Perhaps that is enough. Part of the problem I find sometimes is people making the first step. However, if you make it, then there is no shortage of people to help or no shortage of those who think it is a great idea.
First step in Oujda is to create a camp in March. Then, bring the girls' football team in the summer. Then, we will see who jumps on board.
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