Morocco has received FIFA approval to select Fulham defender Issa Diop and Ajax midfielder Rayane Bounida among seven players recruited this month by the 2022 World Cup semifinalist ahead of the next edition in North America, taking the total to 16 since last March.

Diop, 29, was a France youth and under-21 international, while Bounida is among six players aged 20 or under who have switched eligibility this month to represent Morocco after featuring in youth football for Belgium or the Netherlands.

All have direct family ties to Morocco, allowing them under FIFA rules to change national eligibility, typically when they have not played a senior competitive match for the country they previously represented.

Diop and Bounida are part of new coach Mohamed Ouahbi’s squad for World Cup warm-up matches against Ecuador on Friday in Madrid and Paraguay on Tuesday in Lens, France.

At the 2026 World Cup, Morocco is in a group with Brazil, Scotland and Haiti, with matches to be played near New York, Boston and Atlanta.

Morocco has also secured direct entry to the 2030 tournament as a co-host alongside Spain and Portugal, with additional matches to be held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

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The Moroccan football federation, led by Fouzi Lekjaa, has actively recruited players from the diaspora in Europe.

The squad that made history in Qatar as the first African semifinalist included players such as Hakim Ziyech and Sofyan Amrabat, both of whom had represented the Netherlands at youth level.

The eligibility changes approved by FIFA in March include Bounida and Genk midfielder Saif Eddien Lazar, who had represented Belgium.

Players switching from the Netherlands include Benjamin Khaderi and Sami Bouhoudane, both 18 and from PSV Eindhoven, 20-year-old Utrecht defender Oualid Agougil and 18-year-old Feyenoord player Ayoud Ouarghi.

FIFA also approved nine more eligibility switches between March and December last year, involving players from France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway.

Published on Mar 27, 2026