Fixing a smartphone motherboard can take hours and requires a steady hand. In Casablanca, some of the world’s best repair technicians will compete to do it in minutes. Casablanca will host a stage of the CGC World Cup, an international smartphone repair competition, for the first time on 9 and 10 September. The event will take place at Espace Cœur Sacré and is organised by CGC Morocco Event, with Red Fix, the Federation of Repair of Machinery, Engines and Equipment, and the Casablanca Prefecture.
The Casablanca event is part of an international competition that has held stages in Paraguay, Colombia, Iraq, Egypt and India. The best technicians will qualify for the world final in Guangzhou, China.
More than 20 Chinese companies working in smartphone repair tools, equipment, software and spare parts are expected to attend.
The two-day event will include repair competitions, technical demonstrations, training sessions and talks with industry professionals. International speakers and influencers focused on smartphone repair and new technology will also take part.
Technicians will compete in several repair challenges. These include repairing iPhone motherboards, finding faults on Android logic boards, replacing broken OLED glass and taking phones apart and putting them back together against the clock.
Some repairs involve working on components smaller than 1mm under powerful microscopes. Technicians will also use hot-air rework stations, thermal cameras and precision soldering equipment.
The event will also feature a live attempt at a Guinness World Record for high-speed smartphone hardware repair.
“The best technicians in the world gather in Casablanca for an official stage of the Circuit Global Championship, qualifying for the world final in China.”
The event will also give Moroccan repair technicians a chance to meet international suppliers and learn about new tools, software and repair methods.
“More than twenty specialized Chinese enterprises will showcase tools and software. For Moroccan repairers, this is a rare opportunity to access market innovations directly without intermediaries.”
The global consumer electronics repair market is worth more than $40bn and could reach $64bn by 2030.
Keeping a smartphone in use for two more years can also reduce the carbon impact linked to manufacturing a new device.
Top technicians can complete complex repairs in just a few minutes. One example cited by the organisers is a processor replacement completed in 3 minutes and 15 seconds.
