When did you begin We Can Morocco? How has the group grown?

It has grown extremely in comparison with a whole lot of organizations in Morocco. Before the NFL documentary, we had just one We Can academy. Now we have now two academies for women and boys in Morocco. We educate by means of sports activities, offering English and French programs, management lessons and different issues. Also, we launched a program known as No Barriers Project, during which we offer youngsters with Down syndrome entry to flag soccer.

We are aiming now to provide women in rural areas entry to flag soccer as a aggressive outlet, however we additionally wish to assist elevate consciousness of issues thought of taboo to debate in Morocco, akin to sexual harassment, and ensure they know when one thing is not proper. We wish to give them a secure area.

That is really wonderful work. What is your final purpose on your group?

I’d like to increase the enterprise throughout Morocco. Our 10-year imaginative and prescient is to have a We Can Morocco-type group in Egypt and everywhere in the African continent. This is the purpose now, and hopefully we are able to increase to the Middle East, as effectively.

Last 12 months, I labored with the Egyptian Federation of American Football to prepare the first-ever flag soccer match in Africa known as the African Flag Ladies Cup. It was proper after I completed my first most cancers therapy. There have been 4 groups within the match — two Egyptian groups, the Eagles Athletic Club and Cairo Bears, the Moroccan Jaguars and one American staff, the Philadelphia Phantomz.

It was actually emotional for me, but it surely was eye-opening. Instead of seeing soccer as a participant from the sideline, I noticed I needed to view it from the highest and assist manage and lead. We truly found our mission and imaginative and prescient for the We Can academies clearly after that match.

When and the way did you discover out that you just have been going to be a part of the U.S. Department of State and espnW’s Global Sports Mentoring Program? And what was your response to the information?

About a 12 months in the past, I used to be in Morocco and acquired a name from the U.S. Embassy in Morocco, and so they instructed me I used to be nominated to symbolize girls’s sports activities for Morocco within the Global Sports Mentoring Program. There have been lots of people nominated and I used to be chosen by some means.

My first expertise with this system was by means of Gatorade and it was digital. That was the primary time I used to be linked with the NFL, NFL International, NFL Films, and so on. They grew to become an enormous supply of help for me throughout that mentorship program.

This 12 months, I acquired an e-mail from this system that stated I’d be mentored by the NFL and the Green Bay Packers and it was going to be in particular person. I truly jumped in happiness once I learn it as a result of it is an honor and a dream to be mentored by one of many largest sports activities organizations on the planet. I’m so completely happy to be right here, and I’ve discovered so much concerning the NFL. I’ve additionally discovered about a few of the initiatives which might be impacting lives, together with mine.

What was the most important factor you discovered throughout your two weeks in Green Bay and New York?

I by no means knew the Green Bay Packers have been a publicly owned group, and I used to be very impressed by the work the Packers do locally. I used to be capable of coach within the Packers’ Football Outreach Camp, and I loved each second of it as a result of it was really for the children, which is what I’m doing in Morocco.

It impressed me so much, and I’ve a lot respect for the group and what they do as a soccer staff and locally. It was chilly, however I actually loved it. I want to return however perhaps in the summertime.