We introduced you a few days ago the project to open the 1st club of padel from the city of Agadir (in Morocco) and we have since had the opportunity to interview Nacer Benzekri, one of the co-founders of this project.

” Out of 10 people who play padel for the first time, how many will want to play again ? "

Padel Magazine : What was your first relationship with the padel ? When did you first hear about it?

Nacer Benzekri : “I discovered the padel via my best friend who started playing in 2020. I watched him fall in love with the sport, going from zero to over five hours of sports activities per week. He managed to convince me in December 2021 to play for the first time in Casablanca.

I immediately felt that it was not a sport like the others because it met all the criteria to please. Unlike tennis, you can very quickly take a lot of pleasure and have fun with friends without necessarily having a solid technical foundation. There is also huge progression potential for those who want to improve for competitive play (even for very good tennis players). “

Padel Magazine : You are at the initiative of this project of the 1st club of padel from Agadir, can you tell us about this project? How did you come up with this idea? Why did you choose to invest in this city of Agadir and not another?

Note: ” PADEL FACTORY is a club of padel located in the city center of Agadir with 4 courts of padel latest generation exteriors. It is a friendly club, with a cafeteria / restaurant area, a relaxation area (with sofas, billiards, arcade, darts), a proshop area (sale of padel), changing rooms with lockers and individual showers as well as a panoramic terrace with a view of the 4 pitches. The layout of the club has been designed to reflect this spirit of conviviality and community, with a “Factory” decoration that is as simple as it is elegant.

The idea of ​​opening a club of padel in Agadir came to me after playing the sport for the first time. I then immediately asked myself the question: out of 10 people who play padel for the first time, how many will want to play again?

By doing some research and polling people, I then knew that this was an interesting project. I immediately spoke about it to my brother and my cousin, who are my two associates today.. After some discussion, the decision was made: to open PADEL FACTORY » the 1er club of padel in Agadir.

We chose the city of Agadir for several reasons : first of all, it's our hometown to all three, and it's important to us to participate in the enrichment of the activities offered by the city not only for the inhabitants, but also for tourists.
Moreover, it is a city at the heart of the concerns of the Kingdom, with in particular the Urban Development Program of Agadir 2020-2024 which wants to make Agadir a new economic pole in the country. This perspective is therefore reassuring for a project such as ours.

Finally, Othmane, manager of the company, lives in Agadir. He knows the city very well as well as the consumption habits of residents and tourists, which is an advantage for the project. "

"My goal is to get into the top 1000 before the end of the year"

Padel Magazine : Do you play regularly? Do you do competitions? Do you have any particular ambitions as a football player? padel ?

PLEASE NOTE “I began the regular practice of padel in March 2022 at “ Home Padel in Saint-Denis in the Paris region, a club where I immediately felt at home (Thanks to the director David!). I immediately developed an addiction for this sport, going from zero to about eight hours a week. I quickly started doing tournaments, first in my club, then all over Ile de France, and now a little further afield. I went in 6 months from unclassified to today 1445e in France. I hope to continue to progress, despite the fact that opening a club takes a lot of time and makes me play less frequently. My goal is to enter the top 1000 before the end of the year, and why not caress the top 500 in the coming months ! "

Padel Magazine : According to you, does the fact of playing padel in France is an advantage for your project?

NB : ” Practice the padel in France allowed me to rub shoulders with many more or less large clubs as well as better understand how these structures work. I was able to clearly identify the best practices to replicate, but also pitfalls and mistakes to avoid. It is thanks to this that I hope to open a club where the experience I will offer my customers will be complete, frictionless, and loyalty-building.

Also, I was able to create an address book in the world of padel in France. There are many partnership opportunities with French clubs, whether for the organization of events such as "exhibition tournaments" or intensive courses for players (with the beach as a bonus!). “

Main objective: “Create a great community”

Padel Magazine : What is your ambition for your future club? (Turnover/atmosphere etc.)

NB : “Beyond the financial objectives that any private club sets before the opening, our main objective is to create a large family community of football players. padel in Agadir because it is a very friendly sport that is practiced by four people, putting human interactions at the very heart of the activity.

Our "dream" would be to have a club where people would come not only to play their game, but also to have a good time with friends..
Dropping by after work to see who's playing, teasing a friend who just lost, having a "losing team pays for dinner" game, challenging the strongest team in the club, watching the final of World Padel Tour, have a bite to eat after the game, … that's the atmosphere we want in our club: have a good time while playing sports. This ambition will be reflected in our service offer as well as in the daily management of our club..

We also want to establish a spirit of competition for players who are sensitive to it through the regular organization of competitions (open tournaments, inter-company tournaments, inter-schools, etc.) and events (climbs, descents, challenges, exhibitions, etc.). “

The current finding of padel in Morocco

Padel Magazine : The Moroccan scene of padel is not particularly in the spotlight. Where are we with respect to the development of padel in Morocco ?

NB : “Indeed, the padel is not as developed in Morocco as in France, and even less than in Spain. It is nevertheless a sport very popular with Moroccans and which is very popular in some cities of the country (such as Casablanca). Like in France, most "good" players padel Moroccans are tennis players due to the still insufficient development of the academies of padel for children, unlike Spain where players start the padel very young and know how to slam viboras at 11 (laughs)!

Also, the first edition of the 1st homologated circuit " MOROCCO PADEL M was organized in September 2022. We can therefore see that thehe Royal Moroccan Tennis Federation is looking into this subject. So there is no reason for this sport not to continue to develop in the months / years to come. "

Opening scheduled for January 2023

Padel Magazine : When will we be able to come and play in this club?

NB : " We hope open in January 2023 to allow our players, locals and tourists, to play padel under optimal conditions: sun and 20°C guaranteed !

Do not hesitate to take a look on our social networks and subscribe to discover this sport and follow the creation of the club from A to Z! STAY TUNED "

For more information, do not hesitate to check the club's networks:

Facebook : Padel Factory Agadir | agadir | Facebook

Instagram : Padel Factory (@padelfactoryagadir) • Instagram photos and videos

Nasser Hoverini

Passionate about football, I discovered the padel in 2019. Since then, it's been crazy love with this sport to the point of abandoning my favorite sport.

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