A Moroccan bowling federation: everything is ready except the framework

A dream shared by all of Moroccan bowling

Since it was founded in Rabat in 2007, the ASBM has pursued a goal set on day one: to develop bowling in Morocco according to international rules and standards. Nearly twenty years on, that work has paid off. Other associations have been born, such as the Bowling Club Casablanca, the Marrakech Bowling Association and the Club Sportif de Bowling Menara, and they all share the same conviction: Moroccan bowling needs a national federation.

A federation is not an end in itself. It is the tool that makes three steps possible, steps that associations, however committed, cannot take on their own:

• Organise: common rules, licences, a national calendar, a single ranking, trained referees and coaches.
• Represent: join the IBF and the African federation, and enter a national team in the African and Arab championships and, in future, the African Games.
• Grow: open bowling up to young people, school and university sport, women and new cities.

Everything is already in place

The paradox of Moroccan bowling fits in one sentence: everything a federation should be organising already exists, built by volunteers without any official status.

Moroccan tournaments already welcome players from Turkey, France, Spain and the United States. The Intercity Strike Cup format, with qualifying rounds and knockout finals, mirrors that of international competitions. In other words, the foundations of a federated sport have been laid. What is missing is the roof.

Doors that stayed closed

The ASBM did not sit and wait. Convinced that a federation was the logical next step in its work, the association knocked on several doors with the relevant authorities to present the project and ask for support. None of those doors opened: no designated contact, no follow-up, no roadmap.

This is not an accusation, it is a regret. Bowling is an accessible, mixed sport that can be played at any age, and it is already established in the country's main cities. Its potential in Morocco is real, and it remains untapped for lack of a framework that would let volunteers take the next step.

Morocco, a sporting nation

The regret is all the sharper because Morocco is enjoying unprecedented sporting momentum, driven by a clear national vision:

• 2022 · World Cup in Qatar The Atlas Lions become the first African and Arab team to reach a World Cup semi-final.
• October 2025 · U-20 World Cup Morocco beat Argentina 2-0 in the final in Chile and become the first Arab country to win the title in this age group.
• December 2025 · FIFA Arab Cup Morocco win in Doha, beating Jordan 3-2 after extra time.
• 21 December 2025 – 18 January 2026 · Africa Cup of Nations Morocco host the tournament for the first time since 1988.
• 2030 · World Cup Morocco co-host the tournament with Spain and Portugal.

Football shows what Morocco can achieve when a sport is organised, supported and visible. Bowling obviously does not ask for the same resources. It simply asks for a place in this momentum.

Africa moves forward, Morocco falls behind

While Moroccan bowling waits for a framework, the continent is getting organised. The African Bowling Federation was inaugurated in Cairo on 4 April 2018. The IBF counted 5 member federations in Africa in 2021; the African federation announced 11 in 2024, with a target of 25 countries. Bowling has also been announced for the 2027 African Games in Egypt.

Egypt, the continent's driving force

The Egyptian Bowling Federation, based in Nasr City in Cairo, runs a genuine national championship: the Egypt Cup brings together the country's clubs, including those of the police, the army, Wadi Degla and Heliopolis, and bowling has its own university championship, which drew nine universities at a recent edition. As early as 1997, Egypt hosted the AMF Bowling World Cup, which gathered 83 nations and whose finals were bowled facing the pyramids of Giza. In November 2024, Cairo hosted the 11th Arab Championship, with ten countries. Egypt holds the presidency of the African federation and will host the 2027 African Games.

South Africa, the other pole

The Tenpin Bowling Association of South Africa (TBASA) is the official governing body of South African bowling. It brings together seven provincial bodies, is affiliated to the national Olympic committee (SASCOC) and awards coaching qualifications. It launched the first continental structure in 2016 and staged the first Africa Nations Cup in Johannesburg in 2017. South Africa won the 2024 Africa Zone Championships and became an associate member of the European federation in 2023 to face stronger opposition.

And our neighbours?

Tunisia has sat on the African federation's executive committee since 2018, and Ghana holds its vice-presidency. At the 11th Arab Championship in Cairo, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon were represented. Morocco was not.

It is not for lack of history. Bowling reached Morocco as early as 1953, in Tangier and Casablanca, and between 2004 and 2010 Moroccan bowlers took part in the AMF Bowling World Cup five times, while a Moroccan team competed in the Mediterranean Challenge Cup in 2006 and 2007 (see the history of bowling in Morocco). Since 2010, no Moroccan participation in these major events has been found: Morocco has gone backwards while its neighbours moved ahead.

Other sports of a similar size have their federation

The Moroccan National Olympic Committee lists more than fifty royal federations. Among them are many sports of a size comparable to bowling, some of which were organised in Morocco long after the ASBM was founded in 2007:

• the Royal Moroccan Federation of Electronic Games (esports), whose founding assembly was held in Casablanca in December 2020;
• the Royal Moroccan Mixed Martial Arts Federation, created in 2018;
• the Royal Moroccan Ice Hockey Federation, a member of the international federation (IIHF) since 2010;
• the royal federations of bridge, chess, polo, tang soo do and archery;
• and, for boules games, two separate federations: one for pétanque and one for sport boules.

All of these sports are legitimate, and the point is not to set them against bowling. Their existence simply shows that the Moroccan sports model can accommodate young or niche disciplines once a framework is opened to them. Esports is a telling example: less than four years after its federation was created, Morocco hosted in Casablanca, in August 2024 and in partnership with that federation, the first in-person African esports championships, with more than 180 players from 17 countries. In August 2026, Casablanca hosted another continental event, the FIFAe Continental Championship Africa. That is what a framework makes possible in just a few years.

Bowling, played competitively in Morocco since 2007, is still waiting for its own.

What we are asking for: a framework, not a cheque

The associations' request is not financial first and foremost. The associations are funded by their members' fees, the bowling centres are private businesses already in operation, and tournaments are organised with partners. What is missing is organisational:

1. A legal framework. Law no. 30-09 on physical education and sport governs the creation of sports federations and the approval of associations. We are asking for a contact within the ministry in charge of sport and a clear path to setting up the federation. Interim solutions exist: in Morocco, padel, for example, was brought under the Royal Moroccan Tennis Federation.
2. A structure. Licences, sporting regulations, a national calendar and ranking, training for referees and coaches, then affiliation to the IBF and the African federation.
3. Representation. The selection of a national team, so that Morocco's best bowlers can wear the national colours at the African and Arab championships and at the African Games.
4. A little media coverage. The press has already reported on the Intercity Strike Cup and the Tangier International Open. A few minutes of airtime each season on Arryadia and in the national media would be enough to introduce the sport to the general public, families and young people.

Minister, let's talk

If you are a minister, an official in the sports department or the National Olympic Committee, an elected representative or a decision-maker, and you are reading these lines convinced that something can be done for Moroccan bowling: get in touch.

The ASBM and Morocco's bowling associations are ready to present Moroccan bowling as it stands today, with its players, competitions and results, and to work with your teams on building the federation.

• Phone and WhatsApp: +212 781 492 440
• Email: [email protected]
• Form: BowlingMaroc.com contact page

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