Sports in Morocco refers to the sports played in the Kingdom of Morocco. As of 2007, Moroccan society participated in many sports, including handball, football, golf, tennis, basketball, and athletics. Hicham El Guerrouj, a retired middle distance runner for Morocco, won two gold medals for Morocco at the Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Association football has historically been particularly popular amongst persons of African descent and is Morocco's most popular sport. Other popular sports include: athletics, Futsal, basketball, boxing, golf, netball, swimming, surfing and tennis. Morocco has hosted many international events such as the 1988 African Cup of Nations, 2013 FIFA Club World Cup, 2014 FIFA Club World Cup, 2018 African Nations Championship and the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup. Most of the events hosted are football related since it is the most popular sport in the country. Ministry of Youth and Sports The Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sports was founded in August 1964 and houses all the sporting federations in the country. Despite the Ministry's mission to engage young people in sporting opportunities, many Moroccan athletes denounce the institution as not giving young Moroccans enough sponsorship or opportunities to play sports professionally. Football The Royal Moroccan Football Federation based in Rabat is the governing body of football in Morocco. Morocco qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times and bid for the World Cups 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2026 but lost out to United States, France, Germany, South Africa and Canada/Mexico/United States in these bids. Morocco is now co-bidding for the 2030 with either Portugal/Spain or Algeria/Tunisia. Morocco national football team Morocco national under-23 football team Morocco national under-20 football team Morocco women's national football team Botola Botola 2 National Botola The "Botola" Pro is the top league competition for football clubs in Morocco. Each season 16 teams compete for the championship. Champion and runner-up participate in the African Champions League. The most successful clubs in the league are: AS FAR, and Wydad Casablanca, and Raja Casablanca. The Moroccan top-flight has produced the second-highest number of CAF Champions League titles, with three Moroccan clubs having won seven African trophies in total. They also produced the highest number of CAF Confederation Cup titles, with five Moroccan clubs having won seven African confederation trophies. Futsal Morocco's popularity for Futsal has risen over the years due to its similarity to football. Morocco national futsal team is a major force