Wydad AC
Wydad Athletic Club, often known outside Morocco as Wydad Casablanca, is a Moroccan sports club based in Casablanca. Wydad AC is best known for its professional football team that competes in Botola Pro, the top tier of the Moroccan football league system. They are one of three clubs to have never been relegated from the top flight.
It was founded on 8 May 1937 by seven Moroccans belonging to the national movement for independence, led by Mohamed Benjelloun Touimi. They initially focused on water polo to give indigenous Moroccans the right to access swimming pools before Mohamed Ben Lahcen Affani – also known by the nickname of "Père Jégo" – created the football section in 1939. He was the first manager of the team. The club has traditionally worn a red home kit since inception.
Domestically, Wydad has won a record of 22 Moroccan league titles, 9 Moroccan Throne Cup and one Independence Cup, becoming the most titled club in Morocco. In continental, international and regional competitions, the club has won three CAF Champions Leagues, one African Cup Winners' Cup, one CAF Super Cup, one Afro-Asian Club Championship, one Mohammed V Cup, one Arab Club Champions Cup, one Arab Elite Cup, three North African Championship and one North African Cup.
The club also competes in basketball, Water polo, handball, volleyball, table tennis, field hockey, fencing, cycle sport, rugby, futsal and Wydad Women's football. The club holds many long-standing rivalries in Morocco with Raja CA, and with the capital side AS FAR.
History
Before independence (1935–1955)
Creation and early Wydad (1937–1940)
The origin of the establishment of Wydad Athletic Club on resistance the colonialism that was imposed by the French authorities during the era of protectorate in Morocco, since before the independence of Morocco, the port of Casablanca was surrounded by a large number of swimming pools that were dedicated to clubs and sports associations only, and the Europeans were the ones who can supervise them. In beginning of the year 1935, many Moroccan Muslims and Jews joined several clubs to take advantage of the private swimming pools, but they were soon expelled by the colonizer because of their fear of an increase in their numbers later, and from here came the idea of establishing a Moroccan club by Moroccans only, so that the club can benefit of the swimming pools and participate in water polo competitions.The idea of establishing Wydad Athletic Club was not as easy as it could be imagined, as all the members of the original core, including Hajj Mohamed Benjelloun Touimi and Hajj Dr. Abdellatif Benjelloun Touimi, suffered from the continued rejection and intransigence of the French authorities to the idea of establishing a “full Moroccan club”, which prompted them to resort to the Franco-Moroccan Association, in order to amend the matters related to registering the club's name, after which the General Resident in Morocco at the time, Maurice Nogues, personally intervened to allow the establishment of Wydad Athletic Club, but with specific conditions.
Wydad is an Arabic word that means "love", "sincere affection.", during the frequent meetings which led to the creation of the club, one of the founding members arrived late after watching the latest film of the legendary Egyptian singer and actress Umm Kulthum with the same name, though Latinized as Weddad, as it coincided with this answer that Zaghrouda set out from one of the neighboring houses to the meeting place, the attendees were optimistic about it, and Hajj Mohamed Ben Lahcen Affani expressed his support for choosing this name, but the intervention of some of the attendees led to a postponement for the final decision on the name of the club, except after the presence of a large number of managers and players, as the name was approved after holding a general gathering, the result was the suggestion and choice of the name "Wydad Athletic Club", as a name for the club without the inclusion of the word “Casablanca” because the club represents all Moroccans, not just the residents of the city of Casablanca.
Wydad played its first game against defending champion USM Casablanca as part of the first day of the championship in what is a criterion of war in September 1939. This meeting was the first of Wydad ended in defeat with a score of two goals to one. The first scorer was Abdelkader Lakhmiri. During this first season Wydad it was not a championship that was played but a true test of war called cutting war because of the Second World War. The first edition of this competition was played so in the context of the 1939–40 season and ended with a victory for the USM Casablanca facing the new team what Wydad. One who had played his first match against USM and had also faced rematch is still faced in the final after an incredible journey that has to qualify. The meeting was ended with a score of 1–0 at Stade Philippe to Casablanca. 1939–40: Champion of Chaouia League 1940: Winner of Moroccan Super Cup 1940: Runner-up of Moroccan Cup
The following season, Wydad was beaten by the Olympia Khouribga 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
Promotion and Honour Division (1941–1947)
Despite Morocco’s engagement in World War II the local authorities continue to host and hold local championships. Wydad competed in these war-time competitions during the early years of the war during which time many Moroccan soldiers traveled to France to defend France from foreign aggression.After playing two seasons under war-time conditions, the French authorities under the orders of the Vichy regime decided to expand the competition and divide teams into two divisions and impose a European-style relegation/promotion system. Wydad, a fledgling club comprised of uncelebrated locals, was initially relegated to the second division and not the first. Despite admirably competing against established clubs, placement in the second division was ratified by a federation dominated by clubs already competing in the first division. Despite these injustices, Wydad managed to be the first in their pool and eligible for promotion to the first division after a 1-nil victory between the dam at Ittihad Ribati. In an attempt to impede promotion, the federation decided to force the club to play another game. The federation selected the Athletic Union of Meknes. This encounter was played behind closed doors in Meknes and during the month of Ramadan. The opposing team for this competition was composed not of local Muslims, but of non-Muslim foreigners. The reasoning for scheduling such additional match with a non-Muslim club during Ramadan remains unconfirmed, but inherently suspicious. After successfully defeating opponents both on and off the pitch, the club's promotion to the top flight was confirmed by the federation. The defining moment during this time was a 12th minute goal by Ben Messaoud as the visiting club defeated the Meknes.
1941–42: Champion of Moroccan Championship D2
1941–42: Runner-up of Chaouia League.
The next season after winning the championship promotion honor is the 2nd level football league in Morocco, and after winning his matches dams, Wydad newly promoted division plays of honor is 'equivalent of first division football league in Morocco. During this season, Wydad had a good run, finishing in the top three of their group to play the final round, which begins from the second round. And after a very good run, Wydad reached the final of the competition and confronts the USM Casablanca club already encountered in regional play. Wydad fails to win its first title in this competition and was beaten by the score of 2–0.
1942–43: Champion of Chaouia League, Runner-up of Moroccan Championship.
During the season 1943–44, the red and white ends the year with a balance of the quarter-finals after several victories, the club face Fedala score on the river 2–0. Also noteworthy during this season package of USM Casablanca.
In 1944–45, the club managed the final qualification in the pool but was eliminated by the Association Sportive Marrakech Marrakech often called SAM despite a victory in the second round against the ASM score of 3–0.
The 1945–46 season is one of the best in the club since its inception as Wydad won the regional championship with a total of more than 62 points or 19 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw. After winning the title, Wydad qualifies for the final round where he was defeated by the USM Casablanca final score of 3–1. Despite this defeat, the balance of the season is rather positive.
During the 1946–47 season, the club honors its first participation in the North African Cup but failed to move beyond the sixteenth-finals following a defeat by club Fedala the most minimal scores a 1–0. In the league, the WAC failed to win the title
Early titles and independence (1947–1956)
It will take more than nine years for Wydad to finally win its first championship. In a group of eight clubs, Wydad played fourteen matches, won six, lost two and drawn six. Moroccan Iyad El Baz helped win Wydad's first ever trophy. During the same season Wydad participates in the North African Championship with the title won and even managed to win by beating the US Athletic score of 4–2.Wydad also took part in the 1948–49 season of the North African Cup, which is a competition organized by the Union of North African Football that it is made up of five leagues is that of the Morocco, Tunisia, Algiers, Oran and Constantine. The competition began for Wydad in the knockout final against Red Star of Algiers. The match ended in a victory for Wydad AC score of 3–1. Then, in the quarter-finals, he must face the USM Bone or he managed to climb in the semi-finals with a victory on the score of 2–1. Continuing his journey, he must then face the Olympic Hussein Dey, club league Algiers. This meeting was a massacre ending with a victory on the score of 3–0 while the club qualified for the finals is a club and even Casablanca Moroccan who managed to beat the Sports Club Hammam Lif on the modest score of 1–0. this club is in fact the US Athletic. The final was held in Casablanca in 1949, is opposed both clubs are Wydad AC that and the US Athletic and after 90 minutes of play, Wydad won the competition for the first time in its history with a victory on the score of 2–1. During the same season they also managed to win a Championship North African football when editing played as mini-league since it was the team with the most points wins the championship, they also won another championship, so it is the first club which has tripled something which nobody has done throughout history.
During the following season Wydad fails to succeed on a hat-trick but doubled. It won the Moroccan championship for the third time in its history and a row with a total of more than 57 points, and won the championship of North African football by beating the USM Oran on the score 4–0 in Algiers on 28 May 1950.
During the 1950–51 season, Wydad continues its momentum by winning the national championship but was beaten in the final of the African Cup North face SC Bel Abbès on the score 1–0.
During the last season played before independence, Wydad won his fifth and last championship title before Moroccan independence. Participating teams in this championship was twelve in number counting Wydad. During the same season, the Reds were beaten in the final of the championship of North Africa to Casablanca in the face of ES Guelma score of 2–1.