Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

is the most popular sport in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. The governing board for Moroccan football is the

Royal Moroccan Football Federation The Royal Moroccan Football Federation ( ar, الجامعة الملكية المغربية لكرة القدم), (french: Fédérarion Royale marocaine de football) is the governing body of football in Morocco. It was established in 1956. It beca ...

. Football in Morocco witnessed a great development in the last stage, which gained international fame, after the honor and representation of the honorable Moroccan team

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

in the

2013 FIFA Club World Cup The 2013 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2013 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was the 10th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament between t ...

, the

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

international tournament hosted by

when

Raja Club Athletic Raja Club Athletic ( ar, نادي الرجاء الرياضي, Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī, zgh, ⴰⵙⵔⵉⵔ ⵏ ⵕⴰⵊⴰ ⴰⵎⴰⵏⵓⵏ), commonly referred to as Raja CA, Raja Casablanca or simply RCA is a professional footb ...

reached the final match against the great German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

. The most popular clubs in

are

Raja Casablanca Raja Club Athletic ( ar, نادي الرجاء الرياضي, Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī, zgh, ⴰⵙⵔⵉⵔ ⵏ ⵕⴰⵊⴰ ⴰⵎⴰⵏⵓⵏ), commonly referred to as Raja CA, Raja Casablanca or simply RCA is a professional Footb ...

Wydad Casablanca Wydad Athletic Club ( ar, نادي الوداد الرياضي, ) commonly referred to as Wydad AC and known as Wydad, or simply as WAC, is a Moroccan sports club based in Casablanca. Wydad AC is best known for its professional football team that ...

and

ASFAR Metzad ( he, מיצד) also Asfar, is an Israeli settlement organised as a community settlement in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the West Bank. Established as by ultra-orthodox Jews in 1984, it is located south of Bethlehem in the eastern J ...

Morocco national football team The Morocco national football team,french: Équipe du Maroc de football nicknamed "the Barbary lion, Atlas Lions", represents Morocco in men's international Association football, football competitions. It is controlled by the Royal Moroccan Foo ...

won the

1976 African Cup of Nations The 1976 African Cup of Nations was the tenth edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Ethiopia. The format of competition changed from 1974: the field of eight teams was still split into tw ...

, two African Nations Championships and

FIFA Arab Cup The FIFA Arab Cup ( ar, كأس العرب, translit=Kaʾs al-ʿArab), or simply Arab Cup, is an international association football competition which has been organized by FIFA since 2021, and is contested by the senior men's national teams of ...

once. They have participated in the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

six times. Their best result came in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, when they were the first African and Arab national team to reach the semi-finals at the

National competitions

Botola

Nationally, professional football is divided into 2 leagues: the top-tier GNF 1 and the second-tier

GNF 2 Botola Pro 2, commonly known as Botola 2 (formerly known before as the ''Groupement National de Football 2''), is the second division of the Moroccan football league, behind the Botola, the highest football league in Morocco. It features 16 teams ...

. Botola being the top-tier league. Only 19 out of 31 clubs managed to win the league:

Wydad AC Wydad Athletic Club ( ar, نادي الوداد الرياضي, ) commonly referred to as Wydad AC and known as Wydad, or simply as WAC, is a Moroccan sports club based in Casablanca. Wydad AC is best known for its professional Association footba ...

(22),

Raja CA Raja Club Athletic ( ar, نادي الرجاء الرياضي, Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī, zgh, ⴰⵙⵔⵉⵔ ⵏ ⵕⴰⵊⴰ ⴰⵎⴰⵏⵓⵏ), commonly referred to as Raja CA, Raja Casablanca or simply RCA is a professional footb ...

(12),

Maghreb Fes The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

(4),

KAC Kenitra KAC or Kac may refer to: Organizations * Kenitra Athletic Club, a football club in Kenitra, Morocco * Knight's Armament Company, US * Korea Airports Corporation * Kosciusko Alpine Club, an Australian ski club People * Eduardo Kac (born 1960), ...

(4),

Kawkab Marrakech Kawkab Athlétique Club of Marrakech ( ar, الكوكب المراكشي; KACM) is a Moroccan professional football club based in Marrakech. The club was founded on 20 September 1947 by Hadj Idriss Talbi. Honours * Moroccan League First Divisio ...

(2),

Hassania Agadir Hassania Union Sport d'Agadir ( ar, الحسنية الاتحاد الرياضي لأكادير, translit=al-ḥasaniyya al-ittiḥād ar-riyāḍiyy li-ʾagādīr, zgh, ⵍⵃⴰⵙⴰⵏⵢⵢⴰ ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵏⵜ ⵏ ⵜⵓⵏⵏⵓⵏⵜ � ...

(2),

Moghreb Tétouan Moghreb Atletico Tetouan ( ar, المغرب أتلتيكو تطوان; acronym MAT) is a Moroccan football league system, Moroccan football club based in Tetouan. MA Tétouan was founded in 1922 and used to compete in the Tétouan local compétit ...

(2),

FUS Rabat Fath Union Sport ( ar, اتحاد الفتح الرياضي), commonly called FUS or FUS Rabat, is a Moroccan professional football club based in Rabat and currently playing in the first division. The club was founded on 10 April 1946. 'Fath U ...

(1),

Olympique Khouribga Olympique Club de Khouribga, also called OCK, is a Moroccan football club based in Khouribga. History The club was founded in 1923 and is considered one of the oldest clubs in Morocco. The club first entered the first division of the Moroccan ...

(1),

Racing de Casablanca Racing Athletic Club Casablanca ( ar, نادي الرسينغ الرياضي) is a Moroccan football club currently playing in the Botola 2. The club was founded in 1917 under the name of Racing Athlétic de Casablanca, but in 1969 the name wa ...

(1),

Renaissance de Settat RS Settat, also called Renaissance Sportive de Settat is a Moroccan football club located in the Moroccan city of Settat. Founded in 1946 the current Chairman is Rachid Azmy and the current manager is Abdellatif Killech. Honours * Botola : 1 ...

(1),

IR Tanger Ittihad Riadi Tanger ( ar, الاتحاد الرياضي لطنجة, lit.'Sports Union of Tangier'), known as Ittihad Riadi Tanger, abbreviation IRT, is a Morocco, Moroccan football club based in Tangier, that competes in Botola, the top flight ...

(1),

Olympique de Casablanca Club Olympique de Casablanca ( ar, نادي الأولمبيك البيضاوي) or CO Casablanca for a short, is a defunct Moroccan football club that was based in Casablanca. The club played its home games at the ''Stade du COC'' History Ol ...

(1),

Mouloudia Oujda Mouloudia Club of Oujda ( ar, مولودية وجدة), commonly abbreviated to MC Oudja, is a Moroccan football club based in Oujda. Mouloudia, which closely translates to "birth" in Arabic, was named after the coincidence of the day of its c ...

(1),

CODM de Meknès Codeine 3-O-demethylase (, ''codeine O-demethylase'', ''CODM'') is an enzyme with systematic name ''codeine,2-oxoglutarate:oxygen oxidoreductase (3-O-demethylating)''. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction : codeine + 2-oxogluta ...

(1),

Chabab Mohammédia Chabab may refer to: * Chabab Riadhi Belouizdad, Algerian football club * Chabab Al Araich, Moroccan football club currently playing in the third division *Chabab Atlas Khénifra Chabab Atlas Khénifra is a Moroccan football club currently play ...

(1),

Raja de Beni Mellal Raja Beni Mellal is a Moroccan football club currently playing in the second division Botola 2. The club was founded in 1956 and is located in the town of Beni Mellal. History Raja Beni Mellal was founded in 1956 by Monsieur Abdellatif Mesfio ...

(1),

Étoile de Casablanca Étoile de Casablanca is a Moroccan football club currently playing in the fourth division. The club is located in the town of Casablanca. It was founded in 1942 and plays their home games in the Stage Père Jégo. Honours * Moroccan Champ ...

(1).

Coupe du Trône

The

Moroccan Throne Cup The Moroccan Throne Cup or the Throne Cup is a football tournament sponsored by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and brings together Moroccan clubs who play on the knockout system until two teams reach the final match. Unlike the league ch ...

is a football cup competition in Morocco open to both professional and amateur squads. Only 18 clubs managed to win the cup: AS FAR (12),

(9),

(8),

FUS de Rabat Fath Union Sport ( ar, اتحاد الفتح الرياضي), commonly called FUS or FUS Rabat, is a Moroccan professional football club based in Rabat and currently playing in the first division. The club was founded on 10 April 1946. 'Fath U ...

(6),

Kawkab Marrakesh Kawkab Athlétique Club of Marrakech ( ar, الكوكب المراكشي; KACM) is a Moroccan professional football (soccer), football club based in Marrakech. The club was founded on 20 September 1947 by Hadj Idriss Talbi. Honours *GNF 1, Moro ...

(6),

MAS Fès Mas, Más or MAS may refer to: Film and TV * Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series * "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad'' Songs * ''Más'' (album), by Span ...

(4),

(4), Olympique Casablanca (3),

(2),

(2), Renaissance Berkane (2), Difaa El Jadida (1),

(1),

CODM Meknès Codeine 3-O-demethylase (, ''codeine O-demethylase'', ''CODM'') is an enzyme with systematic name ''codeine,2-oxoglutarate:oxygen oxidoreductase (3-O-demethylating)''. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction : codeine + 2-oxogluta ...

(1),

Racing Casablanca Racing Athletic Club Casablanca ( ar, نادي الرسينغ الرياضي) is a Moroccan football club currently playing in the Botola 2. The club was founded in 1917 under the name of Racing Athlétic de Casablanca, but in 1969 the name was ...

(1),

TAS Casablanca Tihad Athlétique Sport de Casablanca ( ar, نادي الاتحاد البيضاوي) is a Moroccan football club based in Casablanca. Of the many clubs based in Casablanca, they are one of the most popular behind Wydad Casablanca, Raja Casabl ...

(1), Majd Casablanca (1).

International competitions

Morocco men's national football team

The Morocco national football team, nicknamed ''Lions de l'Atlas (Atlas Lions)'', is the national team of Morocco and is controlled by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. They were the first African team to qualify directly to the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

finals, as they did in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

. They were the first African team to win a group at the

, which they did in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, finishing ahead of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Morocco fell to eventual runner-up

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

1-0 in the second round. In

Morocco finished top of Group F , ahead of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. At the Round of 16, they beat

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in a penalty shootout, becoming the first Arab country to reach the quarter-finals. Then the Atlas Lions defeated

by one goal becoming the first African and Arab team to reach the semi-finals. Morocco won the

African Nations Cup The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

once, in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

. They also won the

African Nations Championship The African Nations Championship (french: Championnat d'Afrique des Nations; abbreviated as CHAN), known as the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship for sponsorship purposes, is a biennial African national association football tourname ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, thus becoming the first nation to win back-to-back title. On 10 December 2022, Morocco defeated

1-0, thus becoming the first African and Arab national team to reach the semi-finals at the

Morocco women's national football team

The Morocco women's national football team represents Morocco in international women's football and is controlled by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. The team played its first international match in 1998, as part of the 3rd

African Women's Championship The Women's Africa Cup of Nations, also called the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons and abbreviated to WAFCON, is an international women's football competition held every two years and sanctioned by the Confe ...

. On 14th edition of the

Women's Africa Cup of Nations The Women's Africa Cup of Nations, also called the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons and abbreviated to WAFCON, is an international women's football competition held every two years and sanctioned by the Confe ...

the

Morocco women's national football team The Morocco women's national football team ( ar, منتخب المغرب لكرة القدم للسيدات, french: Équipe du Maroc féminine de football) represents Morocco in international women's football and is controlled by the Royal Mo ...

managed to secure a silver medal after a 2-1 loss against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in the

2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations The 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations ( ar, كأس الأمم الإفريقية للسيدات 2022, french: Coupe d'Afrique des nations féminine 2022), (also referred to as WAFCON 2022) officially known as the 2022 TotalEnergies Women's Afric ...

. They also qualified for the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is scheduled to be the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by the women's national association football teams organised ...

becoming the first Arab country to qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Clubs

The Moroccan clubs are the second most titled in African competitions with 24 titles: 1

African Cup Winners' Cup The African Cup Winners' Cup was a football competition that started in 1975 and merged with the CAF Cup in 2004 to form the CAF Confederation Cup. It was a competition between the winning clubs of domestic cups in CAF-affiliated nations and was ...

, 2

CAF Cup The CAF Cup was an annual competition organised by the CAF for domestic leagues runners-up of member associations who have not qualified to the pre-existing CAF international club competition the African Cup of Champions Clubs. History The tou ...

, 7

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and organi ...

, 7

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and co ...

, 5

CAF Super Cup The CAF Super Cup (also known as African Super Cup or for sponsorship reasons TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup) is an annual African association football competition contested between the winners of the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation ...

and 2

Afro-Asian Club Championship The Afro-Asian Club Championship, sometimes referred to as the Afro-Asian Cup, was a football competition endorsed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC), contested between the winners of the Africa ...

References

External links

Maroc.net
{{Football in Africa