Marrakech, fascinating and football-loving: what is Morocco's Red City like? It's investing and modernizing ahead of the 2030 World Cup.

Football has long given Marrakech a source of pride. Just Fontaine was born there on August 18, 1933, during the French Protectorate in Morocco. He scored 13 goals in six matches at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden , a record that no one could break (and which will probably never be broken). But Marrakech also has other reasons to boast .

The Red City , as it is known for the predominant color of its buildings, is one of the four Imperial Cities of Morocco (the others are Rabat, Fès and Meknès) and was the capital of the Kingdom for almost 400 years in four periods between the 11th and 18th centuries. Its medina, founded almost a millennium ago, covers an area of ​​600 hectares, making it the largest in North Africa, and was included by UNESCO on the World Heritage List in 1985.

This city, with just over a million inhabitants, is the country's main tourist destination: in 2024, it was visited by almost four million people , a record number, according to a report by the Regional Tourism Council of the Marrakech-Safi region. Surely the majority of visitors were in Jemaa el-Fna Square, the heart of the city, where you can enjoy a Gnawa music show, taste a meat tagine at a communal table, appreciate the skills of a snake charmer, or buy T-shirts, scarves, or caps of the national team that qualified for the 2026 World Cup on Friday .

In Marrakech, as in any part of Morocco, football is omnipresent. The city's most important team, Kawkab Athletic Club , has a fan base known as "player number 12," although this team has experienced the ingratitude of relegation. Or several. In the last six seasons, it competed in the second and third divisions (which are amateur). Finally, in May, it won the silver division title and was promoted to the elite.

“Football is a blessing for us. Thank God, we'll be playing in the first division again, and that will be gratifying for Marrakech. God willing, we'll compete well with the country's top teams,” enthuses Tarek, who drives a taxi (they're yellow here) and boasts of having played for Kawkab in his youth.

During their promotion season, Kawkab played their home matches, as usual, at the Grand Stade de Marrakech, which was undergoing renovation work, as it will be one of the nine venues that will host matches in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations , which will take place between December 21 and January 18.

“The main challenge we faced during the first phase of the renovation was carrying out the work while the stadium was still operational. Once the season ended and stadium activity stopped, we reached cruising speed, allowing us to meet the desired deadline for this first phase,” explains Morad Karaoui , regional director of the National Society for the Construction and Management of Sports Facilities (Sonarges), a public body whose main mission is the planning, construction, management, and development of sports infrastructure nationwide.

The project, which cost 400 million dirhams (approximately $44 million), began in January 2024 and included improvements to the locker rooms, the mixed zone, and the press area; replacement of seats; renovation of the playing field and four training pitches (with three more added), and lighting changes. Perhaps the most striking change was the installation of a panoramic restaurant with a capacity for 180 diners.

This Saturday, Kawkab played a friendly with Tunisian side Étoile du Sahel to celebrate the completion of the construction work. But this end is just a pause, as after the Africa Cup of Nations, a second phase of work will begin. The Grand Stade de Marrakech (where San Lorenzo beat Auckland City and lost to Real Madrid in the 2014 Club World Cup) will also be one of the six Moroccan venues for the 2030 World Cup , which the country will co-host with Spain and Portugal .

In the second phase of the renovation of this stadium, located in the north of the city (the most modern area) and at the foot of the Atlas Mountains , the uncovered sections of the stands will be roofed and the capacity will be expanded from 41,000 to 46,000 spectators. To achieve this, the pitch level will be lowered, the athletics track will be removed, and a new seating ring will be added, as Abdelkerim Bouilli, development director of the Grand Stade de Marrakech, explained to Clarín on behalf of the National Agency for Public Equipment. The project is scheduled for completion in 2028.

The stadium's renovation will be accompanied by other modernization efforts. As part of a 96 billion dirham (10.5 billion dollars) investment program being developed by the National Railways Office, a high-speed line will be added connecting Marrakech with Kenitra , in the north of the country, a 430-kilometer journey that will take two hours and 40 minutes. The goal is for it to begin operating by the end of 2029, a few months before the World Cup.