SPORT | INSPIRING
By World Media Feed Editorial Team
Long before the World Cup celebrations, professional contracts and international recognition, Younes El Bahraoui was a young boy with a football at his feet, boundless energy and a vision for the game.
In 2016, when he was around 10 or 11 years old, Younes traveled to the United States as part of a youth sports exchange program.
El Aomari remembers a group of talented, energetic young Moroccan players. But one thing stood out about Younes: even at that age, he seemed to see the game differently. He had an instinct for the pitch, a natural confidence and an imagination that made him an exciting young player to watch.
It was an early glimpse of a football journey that would eventually reach the highest level of international youth football.
A conversation in New York that never left him
One particular memory from that American visit has stayed with El Aomari.
During a match against a club in New York, the president of the opposing club approached him with a remarkable comment.
As El Aomari recalls, the club president said he would pay thousands of dollars just to have the quality of one of the young players he had watched.
For El Aomari, the comment opened an opportunity to explain something he believes makes Moroccan football special.
Many Moroccan players develop their skills playing football in the streets and neighborhood pitches. Those informal environments encourage creativity, close ball control, quick thinking and the ability to improvise.
It is a football culture that has helped give Morocco a reputation for producing technically gifted players. Morocco is sometimes affectionately called the “Brazil of Africa.”
The young players in that exchange carried much of that creativity with them onto the American pitches.
Younes was among them.
Talent needs a journey
Recognizing potential is one thing. Turning it into a professional football career is another.
Behind every successful player are years of training, sacrifices, difficult decisions and countless hours of work that supporters rarely see.
Younes continued developing through different football environments, working with coaches and academies along the way. Each stage formed part of a longer journey that required commitment, discipline and belief in his abilities.
His progress was never the achievement of one program or one individual. It was the result of his own dedication, the opportunities he pursued and the people who contributed to his development over the years.
In 2025, that journey reached a historic milestone when Younes became part of the Moroccan squad that won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
Morocco’s triumph marked a landmark achievement for the country’s football history and placed a new generation of Moroccan players on the international stage.
For those who remember Younes as a child, seeing him lift a World Cup trophy carries a special meaning.
Still making his mark
Winning a World Cup is a major achievement, but it does not mean a player’s story is finished.
Younes has continued pursuing his professional career, taking on new challenges and representing Moroccan football.
On November 12, 2026, he added another important moment to his international journey.
Representing Morocco’s U-23 team, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 away victory against Ethiopia in the first leg of the qualifying tie for the 2027 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
The result gave Morocco an advantage ahead of the return match, scheduled for November 17 in Rabat.
It was another reminder that the young player who once impressed observers during a youth exchange is continuing to make his presence felt on the football field.
A connection that time has not erased
Recently, El Aomari reached out to Younes through Instagram. To his pleasant surprise, the player responded.
For someone who remembers him as a 10- or 11-year-old boy participating in an American sports exchange, that brief reconnection was a meaningful moment.
Football careers can take players across countries, clubs and continents. Recognition grows, responsibilities increase and life moves forward. Yet the memories of those early experiences remain part of the story.
El Aomari does not claim credit for Younes’s achievements. He remembers being one small part of an early chapter in the life of a talented young player who went on to build his own career through hard work and determination.
And perhaps that is what makes this story worth telling.
In 2016, Younes was a young boy with energy, ambition and a clear vision on the pitch.
In 2025, he became a World Cup champion.
In 2026, he is still scoring goals and writing new chapters in his football career.
The journey from a promising young player to an international champion is never easy. But sometimes, when you look back, you can see that the signs of ambition and talent were there from the beginning.
World Media Feed Editorial Team
This original WMF feature is based on firsthand recollections from Miloud El Aomari about the 2016 youth sports exchange, alongside independently verified information about Younes El Bahraoui’s football career.
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