Utonomy of sport and the state interventionCase of provisional sport committees in Morocco

In a context of openness accustomed to a strong involvement of civil society in the decision-making process of public affairs, any action emanating from the State will be badly perceived and considered as an interference, an abuse of power and finally, a return to an authoritarian State system omnipresent in the socio-economic sphere which stifles all initiatives. It is in this context that the reaction of the Olympic and sports movement (O.S.M.) to the appointment by the ministry in charge of sport of civil servants in place of an elected federal office in the management of a given sport discipline must be appreciated. Although their field of intervention is regulated and limited in time and space, it nevertheless continues to provoke strong reactions, indignation and often protests for this interference in a field that is used to being managed by the sports and Olympic movement. Thus, a power struggle emerges between the State interested in getting its hands on a domain deemed sensitive with important socio-economic and political ramifications and on the other hand the M.S.O. which seeks, by all means at its disposal, to preserve the autonomy of the management of sports affairs from any state or other interference. This article raises questions relating to the concept of power within organizations, the management of conflicts between the MOS and the state, the reasons justifying the intervention of the latter and the instruments used by the state to ensure the perpetuation of control over the sports domain. It will be a question of analysing the course of the provisional committees, as a means of direct intervention by the state, during the period 1979-2020, using, as methodological tools, the analysis of official documentation, interviews with sports officials and the author's actual participation in the management of some of these committees.