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Not every star emerges from a prestigious academy, and not every remarkable career begins on pristine, state-of-the-art pitches. Ayoub El Kaabi, the Moroccan striker set to represent the Atlas Lions at the 2026 World Cup, embodies one of the most inspiring stories in Moroccan football. His journey began in Mediouna, near Casablanca, where he was born on June 26, 1993, into a modest family.
At the age of 15, El Kaabi left school to help support himself, taking on physically demanding jobs in carpentry workshops, carpet cleaning and construction. Yet football remained a constant passion. After long days of work, he would head to local dirt pitches, playing wherever he could and in whatever position was needed.
He gradually climbed through Morocco’s lower divisions, and by the age of 20 had begun attracting attention with third-tier clubs. The breakthrough came in 2017 when he joined Racing Casablanca. There, he exploded onto the scene, scoring 25 goals in a single season and finishing as the top scorer in Morocco’s second division.
? A lion who knows only how to hunt the net ?
— CAF - AR (@caf_online_AR) September 27, 2022
Enjoy today’s star, Ayoub El Kaabi ?#TotalEnergiesCHAN | #StarOfTheDay | @EnMaroc pic.twitter.com/aaRBEFXkg9
He soon moved to RS Berkane, where he established himself as one of the country’s most promising forwards. His performances in African competitions earned him national recognition, but it was at the 2018 African Nations Championship that he truly announced himself to the continent. El Kaabi scored nine goals, finished as the tournament’s top scorer and played a key role in Morocco’s title-winning campaign. His exploits earned him a place in Hervé Renard’s squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where he featured against Iran and Portugal.
A career spanning three continents
In the summer of 2018, El Kaabi embarked on his first overseas adventure, joining Chinese side Hebei China Fortune in a deal reportedly worth €6.5 million. After a successful spell in China, he returned to Morocco and spent the 2019-20 season on loan at Wydad Casablanca, where he finished as the league’s top scorer.
His journey then took him to Turkey with Hatayspor, where he played between 2021 and 2023 and established himself as one of the Süper Lig’s most effective attackers. A brief stint at Qatar’s Al Sadd followed before another move transformed his career.
In the summer of 2023, El Kaabi joined Greek giants Olympiacos, a transfer that proved to be a defining moment. He quickly became one of the club’s key players, finishing among the league’s leading scorers and topping the UEFA Europa Conference League scoring charts. His crowning moment came in the 2024 final against Fiorentina, when he scored the winning goal to secure Olympiacos’ first-ever European trophy, becoming the first Moroccan player to score in a European club final.
⚽️?? Watch Moroccan Ayoub El Kaabi’s goal against Rangers #EuropaLeague pic.twitter.com/7XUVFEKFKU
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) November 7, 2024
His rise did not stop there. El Kaabi continued to break records with Olympiacos, becoming one of the club’s most prolific scorers in European competitions and finding the net against some of the continent’s biggest clubs.
Among supporters, he also earned a reputation for his spectacular bicycle kicks. His acrobatic finishes became a trademark, inspiring children across Morocco to imitate them on neighborhood pitches and in alleyways, dreaming of following the same unlikely path from dirt fields to the World Cup stage.
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