Finally, Derb Ghallef will have its own indoor sports hall. Indeed, a project to this effect was examined by the regional council before being unanimously adopted. The project is part of a partnership agreement between the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Grand Casablanca region, and the provincial committee of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) under the Casa-Anfa prefecture. In practical terms, the project will be established at the Derb Ghallef Youth Centre. This centre currently houses the premises and headquarters of the legendary club La Rabita, which includes a hard-court handball pitch. The duration of the conversion work for this space is estimated at 18 months, for a total of 12 million dirhams, split between the Grand Casablanca region (8 million dirhams), the Ministry of Youth and Sports (3.5 million dirhams), and the provincial INDH committee (500,000 dirhams). "The said agreement is part of the fight against social exclusion in urban areas led by the INDH. It aims to define the conditions and regulations governing the partnership between the various stakeholders," explains the regional council. As for the project itself, it involves building the indoor hall, providing it with various equipment and human resources to ensure its management, as well as connecting it to water, electricity, and sewage networks.
It should be noted that the project is not new. The La Rabita space was supposed to be transformed into an indoor hall for the Mediterranean Games hosted by the metropolis in 1983. The project was aborted, much to the frustration of the handball players of Derb Ghallef, who have constantly drawn the attention of local authorities to the need to provide the neighbourhood with an indoor hall, if only in recognition of La Rabita's performances.
News 10 Jun 2014 2 min read
An indoor hall in Derb Ghallef

