 Faras in1970 FIFA World Cup | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1946-12-07)7 December 1946 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Mohammedia, Morocco | |||||||||||||
| Date of death | 16 July 2025(2025-07-16) (aged 78) | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 1965–1982 | Chabab Mohammédia | (127) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 1966–1979 | Morocco | 94 | (36) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Ahmed Faras (Arabic:أَحْمَد فَرَس; 7 December 1946 – 16 July 2025) was a Moroccan professionalfootballer who played as astriker forChabab Mohammédia at club level andMorocco internationally.
Faras was namedAfrican Footballer of the Year in 1975. In 2006, Faras was selected byCAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years.[1]
With 36 international goals, he isMorocco's all time top goalscorer.[2]
Faras played forChabab Mohammédia between 1965 and 1982, winning theMoroccan Throne Cup in1972 and1975,[3] and theMoroccan League in1980 and finishing as the league's top-scorer in 1969 and 1973 with 16 goals.[4] He retired in 1982, after spending 17 years with the club.
Faras was a member ofMorocco national team from 1965 to 1979, wearing thecaptain's armband for eight consecutive years, starting from 1971. At international level, Faras took part in the1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico,[5] and the1972 Summer Olympics inMunich,[6] before leading his team toAfrican Cup of Nations success in1976. Faras scored a total of 42 goals in 94 games for his national side.[7]
The Morocco national team was placed in Group A, withWest Germany,Malaysia,United States. Faras played a major role in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was the top scorer for the Morocco national team with three goals scored all againstMalaysia making it his first and only hat-trick for the National team.[8][9]
In the1976 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco was placed in Group B. Morocco tied its first match againstSudan and won its second againstZaire. Morocco played the final game againstNigeria, to determine the group winner, and Morocco won 3–1. In the final round Morocco defeatedEgypt 2–1 with a goal scored by Faras in the 23rd minute. They played against Nigeria again and won 2–1, with their first goal scored by Faras in the 82nd minute. Morocco was to play its final againstGuinea and needed a tie to win the cup. The match ended in a tie and Morocco won the cup. Faras was named best player of the tournament and was the second top goalscorer.[10]
On 16 July 2025, Faras died after a long illness at the age of 78.[11][12]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | |||
| 1966 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1967 | 6 | 1 | |
| 1968 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1969 | 7 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 3 | 2 | |
| 1971 | 9 | 4 | |
| 1972 | 16 | 9 | |
| 1973 | 8 | 5 | |
| 1974 | 11 | 3 | |
| 1975 | 7 | 4 | |
| 1976 | 11 | 5 | |
| 1977 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1978 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1979 | 6 | 6 | |
| Total | 94 | 42 | |
Chabab Mohammédia
Morocco
Individual
Records
Morocco squads | |||||||
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Awards | |||||||||
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