Aitana Bonmatí, Alexia Putellas and Ghizlane Chebbak.
Those were the three midfielders selected for the 2025 FIFPRO World 11. More than 6,000 professional footballers took part in the vote that placed the Morocco captain alongside two of the world’s best players.
At 35, having just completed her first full season in a European league, Chebbak became the first Moroccan woman selected for the World 11 and only the second African, after Barbra Banda, to earn a place in the team. It was international recognition for a career spanning almost two decades, most of it spent away from the European spotlight.
Her father’s first gift was a football
Ghizlane Chebbak grew up in a family where football was always present. Her father, Larbi Chebbak, represented Morocco during the 1970s and was part of the team that won the men’s Africa Cup of Nations in 1976.
She inherited her passion for the game from him. The first gift she received from her father was, fittingly, a football.
Chebbak began playing with boys at Difaâ Aïn Sebaa in Casablanca before joining Rachad Bernoussi. She played for several Moroccan clubs at a time when opportunities for women were scarce.
Her first experience abroad came in 2011, but the Egyptian revolution cut short her spell with Misr El Makasa. She returned home and found the place where she would build her career when she joined AS FAR in 2012.
More than a decade at AS FAR
Chebbak established herself as one of the leading figures in Moroccan football during more than ten years with the club. She repeatedly won the league and the Throne Cup and produced remarkable scoring numbers, including 54 goals in 20 matches during the 2013/14 season.
In 2021, she took part in the inaugural CAF Women’s Champions League. AS FAR won the continental title a year later, although an injury prevented Chebbak from competing in the tournament.
Moving to Europe at 33
The major change came in 2022. Chebbak was named WAFCON Player of the Tournament, shared the Golden Boot and helped Morocco reach their first continental final and qualify for their first World Cup.
At Australia and New Zealand 2023, the Atlas Lionesses reached the round of 16 on their tournament debut.
In January 2024, at the age of 33, Chebbak joined the club then known as Levante Las Planas, which was subsequently renamed Levante Badalona. She made 38 Liga F appearances and scored five goals over the following 18 months.
She then spent a season with Saudi club Al Hilal, which announced her departure at the end of June 2026.
The major individual recognition arrived during that period. Chebbak was named the 2025 CAF Women’s Player of the Year and selected for the FIFPRO World 11.
Two Golden Boots and one trophy still missing
Chebbak enters this WAFCON as one of the continent’s leading players. She finished as the tournament’s top scorer in both 2022 and 2024 and was named its best player in the first of those editions.
She opened the scoring against Nigeria in the 2024 final, but Morocco surrendered a 2-0 lead and eventually lost 3-2. It was their second consecutive defeat in the final following the 2022 loss to South Africa.
At 35, Ghizlane Chebbak has collected almost every major individual distinction available in African football. Only the prize she wants most remains missing: lifting the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations as Morocco captain.
After losing two finals, she now has a third opportunity in front of her home crowd.