‘We Don’t Want the World Cup’: Morocco’s Gen Z protests
“We don’t want the World Cup - health comes first!” chanted thousands of young Moroccans in Avenue Mohammed V in central Rabat, in outrage over the deaths of eight women during childbirth at Hassan II Hospital in the coastal city of Agadir, about 550 kilometers west of the capital.
Young Moroccans decided to take to the streets to confront a government that seems to prioritize hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup over the wellbeing of its own people. Their anger erupted swiftly on Sept. 27, following the deaths of the eight women.
The spark spread rapidly from Agadir to more than 22 cities across Morocco. What began as accusations of medical negligence escalated into chants against corruption in the country. This marked the largest wave of demonstrations since the February 20 Movement in 2011, which led to constitutional reforms that curbed the king’s powers and granted broader authority to parliament and government.
A defining feature of this wave of protests was the age of its organizers. Hundreds of thousands of Generation Z youths were coordinating these mass demonstrations online through platforms such as Discord, which was formerly known primarily as a hub for gaming enthusiasts, alongside TikTok and Twitch.
These young people are the ones coordinating, leading the movement and setting protest dates through the hashtag #GenZ212, in reference to Morocco’s international dialing code +212. These protests can be seen as part of a broader trend: an international wave of youth discontent that has sparked protests in countries such as Madagascar, Kenya, Peru, and Nepal, led by this generation against inequality and the deterioration of public services.
The anger of a disenfranchised generation
Despite their diverse educational and social backgrounds, three young Moroccans from Tangier and Marrakesh, who spoke to Al Manassa, expressed a shared sense of frustration about the economic and social realities their generation must navigate.
Morocco’s demographic reality itself shapes the movement: more than half of the population is under 35, with an unemployment rate in this demographic reaching around 36%. A recent poll by the research network Afrobarometer revealed that more than half of young Moroccans are considering emigration at least “a little bit” in search of job opportunities.
Only 28,000 doctors serve over 36 million people, this is 7.3 doctors per 10,000 inhabitants
Aris, a 23-year-old from Tangier, cites the government’s response to the deaths of the eight women as the main spark that ignited this widespread wave of youth anger. He pointed to statements made by Health Minister Amine Tahraoui.
“The minister visited the city, but his response to protesters was arrogant,” Aris said. “In one video, he told them, ‘If you’re angry, go protest in the capital, Rabat,’ even though it’s hundreds of kilometers away from Agadir. Nevertheless, people went and protested there.”
According to “Morocco in Figures,” a report published by the government’s High Commission for Planning, the country has only 28,000 doctors serving more than 36 million citizens. The World bank reports that Morocco has approximately 7.3 doctors per 10,000 people, while the World Health Organization recommends a rate of 15.3 doctors per 10,000.
Aris, who is unemployed, views the women’s deaths as part of a long chain of crises Moroccans have been facing, and which expose the deep divide between government and society. He cites how the government handled the 2023 Al-Haouz earthquake, in which thousands lost their homes, as an example. “Even today, they’re still living in tents,” he said, noting that an activist who criticized the government’s response was imprisoned on multiple charges, among them including “defaming public officials.”
Prioritizing football over people
While Al-Haouz residents have spent two years living on the streets, and the government has neglected to provide them with alternative accommodation, the same government in mid-September celebrated the construction of the new Moulay Abdallah Stadium in Rabat, at an estimated cost of $75 million, in preparation for hosting the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup.
“This leads to the question: is it easier to build a stadium than to build basic homes?” Aris observed. “Football has become a state priority since the 2022 World Cup, with billions spent on stadiums, while public education is deteriorating and hospitals are struggling.”
He described glaring class disparities visible to everyone in Morocco, especially in his coastal city, Tangier. “You see luxury cars and wealthy tourists everywhere, while the city’s youth are unemployed. These inequalities fueled the anger and drew me personally to protest pages on Instagram and TikTok.”
From Tangier to Marrakesh
The situation in Marrakesh is no different. For freelance artist Imad Zoukanni, the decision to join the protests was an easy one. He told Al Manassa he decided to participate in the movement after years of mounting frustration.
“Terrible schools, hospitals where people die because they can’t pay for treatment, and politicians who make promises they never keep,” he said.
Zoukanni holds Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch responsible for the country’s deterioration. According to him, the billionaire, one of Morocco’s richest men, “came to power promising change but has become a symbol of all that is wrong in Morocco: corruption and detachment from the people.”
Protesters have directed sharp criticism at the coalition government led by Akhannouch since October 2021, accusing it of corruption, mismanagement of public funds, and conflicts of interest between his private business empire, Akwa Group, valued at about $1.6 billion, and state projects.
Authorities have worked to keep anger off the streets since day one
Zoukanni lives in a neglected, working-class neighborhood in the city, where residents face what he described as “systematic injustice” at the hands of the current government. “A relative of mine died after waiting too long for cancer treatment. Poverty in Morocco can literally kill you,” said the artist, painting a grim picture of his personal reality and that of his community.
But, he added, such a bleak image must not be seen by tourists: Marrakesh has to remain the “beautiful city” in their eyes. Zoukanni highlights the authorities’ efforts to hide public anger from the streets from the very first day: “I witnessed the police violently attacking protesters to stop them from gathering. The following day, they cordoned off squares and any possible assembly points, stopping us for just passing by, confiscating our phones, and checking our messages.”
Yet the authorities failed to contain the growing movement. Protests expanded, and sporadic clashes broke out between demonstrators and security forces. Officials claimed that most participants were minors, while human rights groups documented the arrest of several children under 18.
On Oct. 1, security forces opened fire on protesters in the small town of Lqliâa a small town outside Agadir, killing three people. The Interior Ministry said the victims died while “attempting to seize police weapons”, a claim eyewitnesses could not verify.
According to the ministry, 354 people were injured, most of them security personnel. Hundreds of cars were damaged, alongside banks, shops, and public buildings in at least 23 provinces. Authorities estimated that around 70% of protesters were minors, noting the presence of both boys and girls under 18 leading the marches.
Human Rights Watch reported that authorities had arrested more than 1,000 people, including minors, noting that some arrests were carried out in front of local cameras, while plainclothes officers detained protesters during live television interviews.
A new wave
The latest protests cannot be separated from previous movements. According to Sara(**), a political science master’s student, The recent wave of protests is not an isolated event; it is an extension of earlier movements in the streets since 2011, including the demonstrations of 2014 and 2017, all of which carried the same slogan: freedom, dignity, and social justice.
Sara, 23, from Marrakesh, said the constitutional reforms that followed the 2011 protests failed to bring real change in power dynamics or public policy.
She told Al Manassa that the current government comprises mainly businessmen disconnected from society and its problems. “Ministers speak arrogantly about their projects. They send their children to study abroad while people die in public hospitals. The justice minister bragged about paying for his son’s education in Canada while citizens can’t access life-saving treatment.”
An attempt at containment
After authorities called on the GenZ212 movement to clarify its position, the group published an open letter to King Mohammed VI on Thursday, Oct. 9, demanding the dismissal of the government, the dissolution of corrupt political parties, the release of detainees, and the convening of a national forum to hold officials accountable.
The movement’s demands have evolved from broad calls for “dignity” and “social justice” into a concrete political agenda, reflecting increasing frustration that Morocco has made little real progress in tackling what the King described during the 2017 protests as the “paradoxes of development,” admitting that the benefit of development had not reached all areas.
Although the king remains the highest level of authority in the country, protesters have not directed their anger toward him. Instead, they appealed for his personal intervention to oversee reforms, chanting, “The people want the king to intervene,” reflecting the image he holds among many Moroccans as a stabilizing force.
The government, in turn, sought to contain the unrest by all possible means, pledging new efforts to end the crisis a day after officials reported that groups of angry youths had stormed public buildings and that anti-government protests showed no signs of stopping.
Amid these attempts at de-escalation and anticipation of royal intervention, GenZ212 announced on Tuesday, Oct. 7, the temporary suspension of its demonstrations until Thursday. That was one day before the king’s speech opening the new parliamentary session in Rabat, his first address coinciding with “Gen Z’s” protest movement.
While the political scene and public waited for any reference to the movement or its demands, the King’s speech made no mention of it, focusing instead on the importance of improving basic services and strengthening social justice.
Following the speech, GenZ212 gave itself additional time, announcing a suspension of protests on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11–12. The move, they said, “is not a retreat,” but aims to “reorganise and prepare for a more impactful phase,” reaffirming their determination to pursue their demands for education and healthcare reform and fighting corruption.
On Oct. 13, in a new development, the movement announced that protests would resume nationwide on Saturday, 18 October, to demand improved health and education services and the release of political prisoners.
(*) A version of this article first appeared in Arabic on Oct. 15, 2025 (**) Sara declined to give her full name