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Doha – Wydad Casablanca, the most successful club in Morocco with 22 titles, including five in the last nine seasons, is enduring a nightmarish season, one they are not accustomed to. The club appears to be heading towards a trophyless campaign, just as they did in the 2022-23 season.
They currently sit fifth, just three points away from qualifying for the second continental competition. However, they find themselves not only far from the top spot but also a daunting seventeen points adrift of qualifying for next season’s African Champions League.
The iconic club’s disastrous downward spiral has caught the attention of Spanish sports daily AS. In a somber report on Monday, AS argued that Wydad’s comprehensive failure in all competitions this season is a massive blow, both in sporting and economic terms, for a club that is used to rubbing shoulders with the continent’s elite.
Wydad, who won the African Champions League title on three occasions, most recently in 2017 and 2022, was eliminated from this year’s continental tournament in the group stage a month ago.
The final straw came with the club’s elimination from the last competition in which they had a chance of winning silverware, AS reported, in reference to Wydad’s latest improbable loss to the kind of opponents they used to dominate and sweepingly defeat.
Yesterday morning, Wydad lost 1-0 to Jeunesse Sportive Soualem, a team currently fighting against relegation in the Moroccan league. This setback marks the Casablanca-based club’s fifth defeat in their last six matches.
AS also pointed out that Wydad is already on their second coach this season, having replaced Adil Ramzi with Faouzi Benzarti in December, but further measures could be expected following this latest disappointment.
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In a recent development, Abdelmajid Bernaki was elected as the new president of Wydad Casablanca during the club’s extraordinary general assembly held on Thursday in Casablanca, succeeding Said Naciri, who is currently in detention for his alleged involvement in the “Escobars of the Sahara” case.
The only list, headed by Bernaki, obtained 81 votes, with three members abstaining from voting, thus turning the page on the Naciri era and starting a new one with the aim of getting the team back on track.
Since the arrest of its president, Said Naciri, in the “Escobars of the Sahara” case, Wydad Casablanca has suffered a series of setbacks. This has affected the team in terms of results in the professional league and at the managerial level; the team is currently without a coach after parting ways with Faouzi Benzarti and his predecessor, Adil Ramzi.
