Mohamed Ouahbi was named Morocco’s new head coach Thursday, succeeding Walid Regragui, as announced by FRMF president Fouzi Lekjaâ at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Maâmoura.
Opening his remarks with gratitude, Ouahbi said: “My deepest thanks to His Majesty King Mohammed VI for his support of Moroccan football and for allowing us today to dream big.” He also thanked Lekjaâ for the trust placed in him.
Ouahbi pledged to “work with seriousness, humility, determination, and above all patriotism,” describing the squad as young and still capable of significant progress – one that “has no complex” and can make Moroccans proud.
He closed with a heartfelt tribute to his predecessor:
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Walid Regragui – for the legacy you left us, for the solid, progressing team you built, and for your closeness to younger national coaches when you were not obliged to be.”
The new coach said his only criteria for selecting players is performance
“I will make no distinction between a 19-year-old player and a 34-year-old one. Performance will decide.”
During his remarks ahead of Ouahbi introduction as a coach, Regragui acknowledged that the team needs “a new breath” ahead of the World Cup.
Regragui said his relationship with the national team goes far beyond his time as head coach. He described a long personal journey with Morocco, first as a supporter, then as a player, later as an assistant coach, and finally as national team boss.
“The attachment that ties me to this team is not new,” he said, adding that he has lived “extraordinary and intense” moments through Morocco’s national side.