The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) announced on Tuesday, August 11, the appointment of Ahmed Kantari as head coach of Morocco’s men’s U17 national team. The former Morocco international replaces Portuguese coach Tiago Lima Pereira at the helm of the Atlas Cubs.
Already a member of the federation’s National Technical Directorate (DTN), Kantari has been given a new role with the U17 national team. According to the FRMF, the appointment is part of its strategy to promote Moroccan coaching talent and give its technicians opportunities to broaden their experience by working with the country’s different national teams.
Kantari, 41, has a career that combines top-level playing experience with several years as a coach. A former Morocco international defender, he spent most of his professional playing career in France before retiring in 2019 and immediately beginning his transition into coaching.
He initially joined Valenciennes’ coaching staff before following Sabri Lamouchi to Nottingham Forest in 2020 as an assistant coach. He later accompanied the Franco-Tunisian coach to Qatar, where he worked with Al-Duhail from 2020 to 2021.
Kantari subsequently returned to Valenciennes, where he gradually moved through the club’s coaching ranks. After joining the first-team staff in 2021, he went on to coach the reserve side before taking charge of the senior team. He remained head coach until November 2024.
In December of the same year, the former Atlas Lions defender joined FC Nantes as a member of the first-team coaching staff. A year later, in December 2025, he was appointed head coach, a position he held until March 2026.
A holder of the UEFA Pro Licence, Ahmed Kantari now begins a new chapter of his coaching career with Morocco’s U17 national team. The role will give him the opportunity to put his top-level experience to work in the development of Morocco’s young international players.
