When the Moroccan men’s soccer team made its historic run to the World Cup semifinals in December, fans across Africa and the Middle East celebrated the long-awaited breakthrough.
But the Moroccan women’s run in this summer’s World Cup may have an even bigger cultural and social impact at home. Last week, the Atlas Lionesses became the first Arab team to advance to the knockout round of the women’s World Cup, a moment that already seems to have shifted some conventions in the North African nation.
The program itself is only 25 years old.