October 19: Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Moroccan FA and member of the FIFA Council, has been appointed the country’s finance minister.
A power broker in African football built through his long-standing alliance with FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, Lkjaa previously served as the country’s “budget director” but his new role will see him become a minister in Morocco’s cabinet. Lekjaa is a member of the PAM party, close to the monarch Mohammed VI. Fouzi is reported to have political ambitions that even extend beyond his new role.
However, FIFA’s statutes and the organization’s code of ethics require football officials to maintain political neutrality. Football associations are also expected to play the game independently.
On Saturday, Fouzi, vice-president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and Infantino spent time together when the FIFA chief visited Rabat for the opening matches of the Under-17 Women’s World Cup.
The North African country has become a prominent organizer of international tournaments, including a number of FIFA competitions. Having hosted the 2026 CAN, controversially awarded to Morocco despite losing the final to Senegal, Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
It is still unclear who will host the final with Spain and Morocco competing for the flagship match.
Fouzi welcomed Infantino’s abandonment of FIFA’s Forward Enterprise plans, but said: “The progress made in recent years through FIFA’s development programmes, particularly in Africa, is a valuable asset that needs to be preserved in the interests of all member associations.”
CAF president Patrice Motsepe has repeatedly said that Africa supports FIFA’s embattled football supreme.
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