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Agency · Morocco

MAP (Maghreb Arabe Presse)

The Agence Maghreb Arabe Presse, a public establishment whose reorganisation law, loi n° 02-15, it reported in 2018; its sports service MAP Sport publishes in French and Arabic.
✓ Last reviewed: September 2026
Creation, by its own account18 November 1959 on its About page; 31 May 1959 on its timeline, which dates the wire’s inauguration to 18 November 1959
LanguagesFrench, Arabic, Amazigh, English and Spanish on map.ma; French and Arabic on MAP Sport
Sports serviceMAP Sport, mapsport.ma; sports section of MAP Express
Web locationmapsport.ma, the agency’s own sports site; the parent site is map.ma
Legal statuspublic establishment; reorganised by loi n° 02-15, BO n° 6667 of 23 April 2018, as MAP Express reported

What is MAP (Maghreb Arabe Presse)?

MAP is the Agence Maghreb Arabe Presse. Its own site states: “Créée le 18 novembre 1959, l'Agence Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP) est l'Agence Marocaine de Presse qui développe une information complète, diversifiée et objective couvrant toute l'actualité nationale et internationale.”[1] That is the agency's description of itself. Its home page offers the site in French, Arabic, Amazigh, English and Spanish, and lists specialised services including MAP Photo, MAP TV, MAP Infographie and MAP Audio.[2]

Its sports news is published on a separate site, MAP Sport, at mapsport.ma, which the home page links, and in the sports section of MAP Express, the agency's French-language news site.[2][3]

The statute. MAP Express reported on 24 April 2018: “La loi N° 02.15 relative à la réorganisation de l'Agence Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP) a été publiée au dernier Bulletin Officiel N° 6667 paru le 23 avril 2018.” It added that the law provides that the agency, “créée en vertu du Dahir portant loi n° 1-75-235 du 19 septembre 1977, maintient son statut d'établissement public dotée de la personnalité morale et de l'autonomie financière.”[4] The gazette issue itself was not read.

Governance. MAP's governance page states of its board: “Le conseil est présidé par le chef du gouvernement qui peut déléguer cette mission au ministre de la Communication.” It adds: “Il est composé des représentants du Cabinet royal, du département du chef du gouvernement et des départements ministériels concernés. Il comprend également les représentants du personnel journaliste et non journaliste.”[5]

What does MAP (Maghreb Arabe Presse) cover?

MAP Sport. The site, in French and Arabic, describes itself as offering “toute l'actualité sportive au Maroc et à l'international”. Its menu covers football, with a section on the 2026 World Cup, basketball, tennis, athletics, martial arts, golf and other sports, with video and photo galleries.[6] On 26 September 2026 it led with “Botola Pro D1 « Inwi » (1ère journée): le Wydad Témara surprend le Wydad Casablanca (3-1)”, and with Morocco's 2-0 win over Gabon in qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations 2027.[6]

MAP Express. Its sports section carried, between 22 and 26 September 2026, “Éliminatoires CAN-2027 (1re journée): Victoire du Maroc face au Gabon (2-0)”; “Botola Pro 'Inwi': En plus des résultats sportifs, l'accession aux 1ère et 2è Divisions conditionnée au respect du cahier des charges”; “Futsal: le Maroc conserve sa 6e place mondiale chez les hommes, recule à la 26e chez les dames”; “Championnat d'Afrique des Nations de volley-ball (Tunis 2026) : Le Maroc bat le Nigeria (3-2)”; an item on billiards; and an item on open-water swimming in Tangier.[3] It also carried “Législatives 2026 : quelle place occupe le sport dans les programmes électoraux ?”[3]

How large is MAP (Maghreb Arabe Presse)'s audience?

No audited audience figure for map.ma, mapexpress.ma or mapsport.ma was retrieved, and none was found on the agency's own pages.[2][6] No figure for the distribution of its wire to other outlets was retrieved either.

MAP Sport offers a mobile application on the App Store and Google Play, according to its own page; no download figure is given.[6] The agency's network page lists “12 pôles régionaux” in Morocco and “12 pôles internationaux”; it gives no count of subscribers to its wire.[7]

Since when has MAP (Maghreb Arabe Presse) existed?

MAP's own pages give two dates, and neither is adopted here. Its About page states “Créée le 18 novembre 1959”.[1] Its timeline, “MAP en dates”, lists under 1959: “31 Mai : Création de l'Agence Maghreb Arabe Presse par des patriotes maghrébins ayant à leur tête M. Mehdi BENNOUNA”, and under 18 November the inauguration of the agency's wire at the Royal Cabinet in Rabat.[8]

The same timeline records that in 1974 the agency became a state enterprise; that on 19 September 1977 it was made, under Dahir n° 1-75-235, an “établissement public doté de la personnalité morale et de l'autonomie financière, placé sous la tutelle de l'autorité gouvernementale chargée de l'information”; and that on 3 June 2013 it launched mapexpress.ma for the general public.[8] No independent source for the 1959 dates was retrieved.

MAP Sport's launch date was not found on its own site or in the timeline.[6][8]

Why does MAP (Maghreb Arabe Presse) matter in Morocco's sport?

MAP describes itself as the Moroccan press agency, and it runs a dedicated sports site whose coverage, on the dates read, ran from the professional league and the national teams to futsal rankings, volleyball, billiards and open-water swimming.[1][6][3] It prints the league's name as “Botola Pro D1 « Inwi »”.[6]

Reporters Without Borders, whose 2026 index places Morocco at “105/ 180, Score : 50.55”, writes: “The diversity of the Moroccan media landscape is only a facade.” It names as independent media still operating “the news sites Lakome, Badil, and Enass”, and its entry, as read, does not name MAP.[9] Those are RSF's words.

References

  1. MAP — À propos (created 18 November 1959). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  2. MAP — home page (languages; services; link to MAP Sport). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  3. MAP Express — Sports (items of 22 to 26 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  4. MAP Express — Publication au Bulletin Officiel de la loi portant réorganisation de la MAP (24 April 2018): loi n° 02.15, BO n° 6667 of 23 April 2018. Accessed 2026-09-27.
  5. MAP — Gouvernance (board chaired by the head of government). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  6. MAP Sport — home page (items of 26 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  7. MAP — Notre réseau (12 regional and 12 international poles). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  8. MAP — MAP en dates (timeline: 1959, 1974, 1977, 2013). Accessed 2026-09-27.
  9. Reporters Without Borders — Morocco country page, 2026 World Press Freedom Index (index line; media landscape; economic context). Accessed 2026-09-27.