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| Wydad AC | |
|---|---|
| Clubname | Wydad AC |
| Fullname | Wydad Athletic Club |
| Nickname | Les Rouges, Les Rouges et Blancs |
| Founded | 1937 |
| Ground | Stade Mohammed V |
| Capacity | 67,000 |
| Chairman | Said Naciri |
| Manager | Hussein Ammouta |
| League | Botola Pro |
| Season | 2023–24 |
| Position | 1st |
| Pattern la1 | _white |
| Pattern b1 | _white |
| Pattern ra1 | _white |
| Leftarm1 | DD0000 |
| Body1 | DD0000 |
| Rightarm1 | DD0000 |
| Shorts1 | FFFFFF |
| Socks1 | DD0000 |
Wydad AC is a Moroccan professional football club based in Casablanca, founded in 1937 and one of Africa's most decorated teams. The club competes in the Botola Pro and regularly participates in CAF competitions, holding a prominent place in Moroccan, African, and Arab sporting calendars. Wydad has cultivated historic rivalries, extensive fan culture, and a track record of domestic and continental success that has shaped football across North Africa and the Maghreb.
Founded in Casablanca in 1937, the club emerged during the French Protectorate alongside institutions such as the Moroccan Nationalist Movement and later interacted with entities like the Istiqlal Party and the Moroccan Football Federation. Early decades saw competition with contemporaries including Raja CA and FAR Rabat, and notable matches against colonial-era teams and visiting European sides. Post-independence, the club consolidated its position in the Botola alongside rivals like AS FAR and Olympique Khouribga, while contesting CAF tournaments such as the African Cup of Champions Clubs and the CAF Champions League. Key managerial eras involved figures linked to Moroccan, Portuguese, and Argentine coaching traditions and the club has featured players who later joined European clubs like Atlético Madrid, FC Porto, and Sevilla FC. The club’s trajectory intersected with regional competitions including the Arab Club Champions Cup and the CAF Super Cup, and it played fixtures against continental powers such as Al Ahly, TP Mazembe, and Esperance de Tunis.
Home matches are played at Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca, a venue shared with rivals and used for national team fixtures alongside Arsenal and Real Madrid exhibition games held in Morocco. The stadium has hosted African Cup of Nations qualifiers, FIFA-sanctioned friendlies, and CAF finals, and it is proximate to training complexes, youth academies, and rehabilitation centers used by players who have transferred to clubs like AS Monaco and FC Basel. The club maintains training facilities that have produced graduates who signed for La Liga and Serie A teams, and it uses medical and sports science partnerships mirroring setups at clubs such as Bayern Munich and Juventus.
The club commands passionate support from fan groups that organize tifos and displays evocative of ultras movements seen in Europe and South America, and these supporters have been central to high-attendance derbies. The Casablanca derby with Raja CA is one of Africa’s fiercest rivalries, comparable in intensity to fixtures involving Al Ahly–Zamalek, Sporting CP–Benfica, and Celtic–Rangers, and it frequently attracts attention from CAF, FIFA, and regional media. International friendlies and continental ties have created followings in Francophone Africa and the Arab world, connecting supporters with diasporas in Paris, Brussels, and Montreal and with networks linked to UEFA and CONMEBOL club relations.
Over the years the squad has included Moroccan internationals who have featured in Africa Cup of Nations squads and FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns alongside foreign professionals from West Africa, Europe, and South America. The club’s alumni include players who moved to Ligue 1, La Liga, and the Portuguese Primeira Liga, and coaching staff have come from coaching trees associated with European clubs such as Sporting CP, Benfica, and Porto. Administrative leadership has engaged with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and CAF governance structures while attracting sporting directors and scouts with experience at clubs like Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, and FC Copenhagen.
Domestically the club has won numerous Botola titles and Throne Cup trophies, and continentally it has secured CAF Champions League titles and participated in CAF Super Cup fixtures alongside winners like ES Sahel and Mamelodi Sundowns. The club’s achievements place it among Africa’s elite, in company with Al Ahly, Esperance de Tunis, and Zamalek, and its players have won individual awards in competitions such as the African Footballer of the Year and CAF Team of the Year selections. Attendance and revenue records for Casablanca fixtures have at times rivaled matchdays seen in European competitions involving clubs like Manchester United and Barcelona.
Club colors, crest, and kit reflect Casablanca’s urban history and national symbols, and the club’s cultural footprint extends into Moroccan music, cinema, and popular culture with references in media alongside artists and public figures from Casablanca, Rabat, and Tangier. The club’s youth academy emphasizes pathways to professional leagues including Ligue 1, La Liga, and the Saudi Pro League, while institutional ties connect it with civic events, philanthropic initiatives, and commercial partnerships with brands that operate across Africa and Europe.
Category:Football clubs in Morocco Category:Sports clubs established in 1937 Category:Casablanca sports teams