Mohamed Ouahbi

Mohamed Ouahbi was born in the "Cité des Ânes" district of Schaerbeek, in the Brussels-Capital Region, into a Moroccan-Riffian family from Nador. He grew up and attended school in Brussels.^[1]

At just ten years old, Ouahbi developed a passion for football during the 1986 FIFA World Cup. The Ouahbi family supported Belgium, but especially rooted for the Atlas Lions^{[note 1]} who reached the round of 16. Later, Ouahbi began studying to become an educator in Schaerbeek, hoping one day to combine his profession with his passion for football.^[2]

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Ouahbi began his coaching career at the age of 21.^{[note 2]} Starting in 1997, he joined Maccabi Brussels where he coached youth teams.^[3] He spent six seasons there, designing age-appropriate training sessions and gaining early structured experience in player observation, planning, and evaluation.^[2]

Working in a socially diverse environment with players of various backgrounds, he emphasized inclusion and co-education through sport. This period allowed him to develop leadership and communication skills, set aside stereotypes, and prioritize learning and education over strict competition.^[2]

Although sporting results were secondary to the club's educational goals, this stage became a foundation for Ouahbi's coaching philosophy, shaping his pedagogical approach and preparing him for roles in higher-level youth academies, leading to his later work with professional clubs in Brussels.^[2]

In 2003, Ouahbi joined Anderlecht,^[4] beginning with the under-nine team, which included players such as Charly Musonda Jr. and Adnan Januzaj. There, he reunited with his friend Yannick Ferrera, whom he had met at Maccabi Brussels, and discovered the facilities of one of Belgium's elite clubs.^[2] He gradually advanced through the youth ranks, coaching teams from U10 to U21.^[5]

During the 2014–15 UEFA Youth League season, he led Anderlecht to the semi-finals, where they were defeated 3–1 by Shakhtar Donetsk in Nyon.^[6]

At the start of the 2015–16 Belgian Pro League season, Ouahbi became assistant coach of the first team under Besnik Hasi.^[4] Anderlecht finished second in the Belgian Pro League behind Club Brugge, qualifying for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League qualifiers. In the UEFA Europa League, the club advanced to the round of 16, defeating Olympiacos, before being eliminated by Shakhtar Donetsk.^[7] After Besnik Hasi's dismissal in May 2016,^[8] Ouahbi returned to youth coaching duties.

In 2017–18, as U17 coach, he won the Belgian U17 championship, qualifying the team for the UEFA Youth League.^[9] He later obtained his UEFA Pro Licence in 2018.^[10]

He continued coaching Anderlecht youth sides until 2021, when he announced his departure after 17 years at the club.^[11]

In March 2022, Ouahbi was appointed by Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, as the new head coach of the Morocco national under-20 football team, assisted by Jamel Aït Ben Idir, succeeding Zakaria Aboub.

He led the team through several regional tournaments, including the 2022 Arab Cup U-20, the UNAF U-20 Tournament editions of 2022, 2023, and 2024 — the latter of which Morocco won, qualifying for the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.^[12]

At the 2025 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in Egypt, Morocco topped their group, defeated the hosts in the semi-final, and finished runners-up after losing 1–0 to South Africa in the final.^[13]

Later that year, he led Morocco at the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile. Morocco defeated the United States in the quarter-finals (3–1), overcame France on penalties in the semi-finals, and won the final 2–0 against Argentina, earning Morocco their first-ever U20 World Cup title.^[14]

In October 2025, Ouahbi was nominated for the CAF Coach of the Year Award.^[15]

In December 2025, Ouahbi became the Morocco U23 coach.^[16]

On 5 March 2026, Ouahbi was appointed as new head coach of Morocco national team, replacing Walid Regragui.^[17][18]