A cultural landmark transformed into a gaming arena
Connectivity built to perform under pressure
To explore what happened behind the scenes, we follow Nouade Mechkour, the dynamic Technical Director of Orange Morocco. She walks us through how the historic building was transformed into a fully operational esports arena in just one weekend. She introduces Mohammed Meskini, who led the team responsible for connecting the venue to the world. The building had no internet connectivity whatsoever. Everything had to be built from scratch in under 48 hours. As Mohammed explains: “There were no existing cable pathways, only beams, so it took around 30 people to work on it.”
Nouade then takes us behind the giant screen installed at the heart of the venue. From this “control tower,” where technicians monitor multiple dashboards, she explains the performance setup: “We deployed 2 Gbps with redundancy.”
In simple terms, that means a very high-speed fiber connection backed up by a 5G link that can be activated instantly if needed. For an esports tournament, this is critical. The competition won’t run smoothly with even the slightest latency. There’s no room for error. As Nouade puts it: “It has to work — and it has to work perfectly.” We also meet Saoussane Rezki, who oversees network supervision. She monitors availability, ensures minimal latency, and guarantees maximum security. Meanwhile, an Orange team remains on standby remotely, ready to step in at the first alert.
Broadcasting around the world
Inside the arena, the tension is palpable. Seventeen finalists (including a highly promising female player) compete in focused silence, broken only by the reactions of an enthusiastic crowd.
After the matches, players reflect on the experience: “These are the best conditions I’ve ever played in — the screens, the connection, the smoothness…” The audience also recognizes the achievement beyond the competition itself: “You can feel the immense technical effort behind this. Seeing an event of this level here in Morocco is truly exciting.”
And that excitement was shared worldwide. Thanks to ultra-high-performance connectivity, the tournament was broadcast live globally on YouTube, Twitch, Max it, and FCM TV. Thousands of viewers followed the competition in flawless image quality and witnessed The Wolf from Jordan claim victory. Beyond performance, the tournament also reinforced our commitment to responsible gaming. Through awareness initiatives addressing online harassment in gaming communities, Orange continues to promote a safer, more inclusive gaming environment. Combining technical excellence with player support remains our key focus, and this unique setting showcased exactly that.
