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Maths whizz Ayyoub Bouaddi: the teen star who chose Morocco over France

Lille's 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, a maths-prodigy academy graduate, has chosen Morocco over France for the 2026 World Cup despite years in French youth national teams. His pick is the latest sign of Morocco's federation winning the dual-national tug-of-war that has reshaped North African football over the past decade.

An empty football pitch under overcast morning light
An empty football pitch under overcast morning lightPhoto: arbi lemzaouri / Pexels
BBC Africa2 h ago
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Bouaddi, born in Lille, came through France's youth pipeline at U16 and U18 level and won regional honours in maths olympiads during his academy years. Lille's head coach has described him as a 'modern number six' and Bayer Leverkusen is reportedly tracking the midfielder for next season's Bundesliga campaign.

Morocco federation president Fouzi Lekjaa has intensified a programme of personal scouting visits and family outreach to dual-national Moroccan players at European clubs over the past three years. After Hakim Ziyech, Achraf Hakimi and Sofyan Amrabat, Bouaddi is the latest high-profile name to come through that pathway, deepening the talent pool that took Morocco to the 2022 semi-finals.

There is a political backdrop: France's federation president Philippe Diallo said last month that young players' national-team choices were 'personal decisions that must be respected'. Morocco is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal — Bouaddi's generation is widely seen as the group that will play in that home tournament.

GeopoliticsAfricaBBC Africa
Source: BBC Africa
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This article is an AI-curated summary of the original story published by BBC Africa. The illustration is a stock photo by arbi lemzaouri from Pexels and is not from the original story.

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