El Mahdi El Idrissi started his boxing career at a young age. Through intense training and strong determination, he achieved numerous accomplishments. Over time, he transitioned from being an athlete to a distinguished trainer, contributing significantly to the development of many young boxers. El Mahdi El Idrissi is considered one of the best boxing and kickboxing coaches in France, having helped many champions rise to the podium both in France and abroad. He was born in Tetouan on November 7, 1970. Seven years later, he joined his family in Strasbourg, eastern France. He grew up in that city, which bears witness to his passion for combat sports, especially boxing. At 54, he is still making his mark. «I started practicing boxing when I was ten years old,» he told Yablady. «In the early 1980s, our generation was very interested in combat sports. We followed international heroes who shone in the world of cinema, such as Bruce Lee and others.» El Mahdi won several titles, most notably the French championship in 1985. Due to his excellence and prowess in this sport, he entered the world of training in his early thirties. «I consider my coaching career to be more important than my career as a boxer in the ring,» says El Mahdi, who has become a well-known coach in France. He is credited with making Strasbourg a boxing stronghold in France, where many world champions have graduated under his tutelage. Among the champions he has trained are Aziz Abdellaoui, who won the World Championship in 2015 and the European Championship in 2016, his brother Hakim Abdellaoui, a four-time World Champion and four-time European Champion, and Elham Rakik, a three-time European Champion, three-time World Champion, and seven-time French Champion. In his career as a coach with the French Boxing Federation, El Mahdi Idrissi has won 67 championships in France and 19 championships at the world level. Last September, El Idrissi inaugurated a sports hall, the largest in eastern France, in the presence of the mayor of Strasbourg, elected officials, and government representatives. This project was the result of a joint cooperation between several government sectors and cost 2.5 million euros. In conjunction with the inauguration of this hall, a mural of the Moroccan coach was installed in Strasbourg, in recognition of his efforts to serve youth and sports. «I train French, Moroccan, Turk, Algerian boxers among others; my training policy is no discrimination and mutual respect. I trained 120 athletes, focusing on quality and not quantity, with 40% of them being women,» he said. El Idrissi, a father of four, emphasized his deep attachment to his homeland, Morocco. He recalls many details from the seven years he lived in Tetouan, considering them among the best years of his life. «I always think about transferring my experience and expertise to Morocco. I just wait for the right time. I visit Morocco two or three times a year.» He emphasized his desire to communicate with the Royal Moroccan Boxing Federation to share his extensive experience with the Kingdom. In addition to training, El Mahdi works as a manager in a food industry company. Thanks to his experience and continuous training in his field, he also offers several training courses in management and human resources.
