Omar Chraibi, team spirit
Moroccan freelance sports journalist, Omar Chraibi, aged 31, struggled to carve out a place for himself in the profession. However, without bearing any resentment, he advises younger journalists on their ambitions. This sense of solidarity can also be seen in his multisport output in a land where football is king.
Profile by Emmanuel de Solère Stintzy.
"When he was little, we asked Omar to imitate sports commentators during our family celebrations. We were just having a laugh, but everyone saw that passion in him", recalls Hamza Lazrak, a cousin of Moroccan sports journalist Omar Chraibi. Enrolled in the Raja Casablanca Academy, the brilliant student, who was a fan of completing crossword puzzles with his father, obtained good grades in Arabic, French and English. He even started writing articles. With him also having an uncle working as a sports journalist (Mustapha Abouibadallah, working for the "Le Matin" newspaper), his pathway seemed clear.
Everything became more complicated after he completed secondary education... Due to his limited financial resources, Omar first had to go through the public faculty, with only second choices being within his reach. He first focused on private law, then carcass work and then Arab law. Three failures and not one diploma to show for them... "I almost became a lawyer or notary, but it just didn't click. Thanks to the financial sacrifices made by my family, I finally obtained a degree from a private journalism institute in Casablanca," says Omar.
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Audacity and will
However, the apprentice sports journalist had not reached the end of his struggles: "I had to be bold and willing to carve out a path for myself. I used to try to get into national team games with my student ID... I then worked for newspapers and specialist websites. Some old hands in the business didn't want me to be a sports journalist like them..." Finally, in 2016, Omar Chraibi signed his first pro contract with "Hesport", and began to be "better known and respected" for his professionalism.
At the age of 31, he now works as a freelance journalist for various media outlets: "Belpresse", "Med Radio", "Afrique Matchs" and "Assahifa". He had "the privilege of a lifetime" of covering the semifinal between Morocco and France at the most recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He has also been to various African countries for several editions of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON): "In 2019, I had saved up to go and cover the AFCON in Egypt. This year, I went to cover the AFCON in Côte d'Ivoire, where we were afraid of malaria and other diseases that were around us!"
We focus too much on football!
His colleague, Oumeïma Er-rafay, recalls: "At that AFCON, I encountered someone very professional and super helpful. In the youth section of the Moroccan Sporting Press Association (Association marocaine de la presse sportive – AMPS), I was secretary general and he was honorary president. He's a cool leader, not a despot! We regularly discuss the potential of young journalists and the issues they face." However, despite the upcoming Olympic Games, Omar Chraibi is still too young to pass the torch. He loves to declare his passion for all sports as much as ever and calls on his audience to bear witness: "In Morocco, we focus too much on football! I like to unearth hidden gems in various sports: Mohamed Rabii, world boxing champion, or Soufiane El Bakkali, Olympic athletics champion."
He has a team spirit that he will apply to the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, which he is going to cover thanks to CFI's Paris Médias 2024 project: "We have several champions in Morocco who deserve media coverage, not only because of their performance but also due to their passion for their sport. Accordingly, I profiled Paralympic runners who were on strike protesting in front of the Ministry to get their bonuses. It saddens me that we do not talk about them more in Morocco, when they have problems accessing stadiums and training. All I can do is convey their message...", he concludes, giving the impression of a big-hearted advocate for their cause.
In ten years…
When they were children, the two cousins Hamza Lazrak and Omar Chraibi had "a shared passion for French TV channels." "We used to watch the Olympics, the World Cup, the European Championships and so on. Maybe Omar will be working on one of those channels in 10 years? He's already covered major sporting events before, but it's just the beginning!" Hamza claims with optimism. Sports journalist Oumeïma Er-rafay also predicts that he will have bright future: "He has the stature to hold a position within FIFA! In 10 years, he could also become editor-in-chief of a media outlet, because he knows how to bring everyone's talents to the forefront."
Omar humbly begins by saying that he "tries to be professional" by staying true to his values and principles to honour his family, his friends and his country. However, he finishes by revealing one of his dreams: "Why couldn't I become a journalist working for an international media outlet that will give me the opportunity to cover major sporting events and to be creative?"
This is because Omar Chraibi doesn't imagine himself "stuck in an office" ten years from now: "That's not my world! I prefer to travel, to be in the field. Every day we live, we discover. In a few years, I hope to pass that on to younger journalists."
Not a million miles away from something a potential future editor-in-chief might say...
