2018–19 Botola

The 2018–19 Botola, also known as Botola Maroc Telecom for sponsorship reasons, is the 62nd season of the Premier League and the 8th under its new format of Moroccan Pro League, the top Moroccan professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1956. The season started on 25 August 2018 and ended on 15 May 2019.

Botola Maroc Telecom

Season	2018–19
Champions	Wydad AC 20th title
Relegated	KAC Marrakesh CR Al Hoceima
Champions League	Wydad AC Raja CA
Confederation Cup	HUS Agadir RS Berkane
Matches played	240
Goals scored	550 (2.29 per match)
Top goalscorer	Mouhcine Iajour, Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba (19 goals)
Biggest home win	Raja CA 6–0 CR Al Hoceima (25 August 2018)
Biggest away win	RS Berkane 3–7 Raja CA (13 March 2019)
Highest scoring	RS Berkane 3–7 Raja CA (13 March 2019)
Longest winning run	7 matches Wydad AC
Longest unbeaten run	10 matches Wydad AC Raja CA
Longest winless run	11 matches KAC Marrakesh MA Tétouan CR Al Hoceima AS FAR
Longest losing run	4 matches CR Al Hoceima KAC Marrakesh
← 2017–18 2019–20 →

IR Tanger came into the season as defending champions of the 2017–18 season. Mouloudia Oujda and Youssoufia Berrechid entered as the two promoted teams from the 2017–18 Botola 2.

Teams

Stadium and locations

MAT

RCA

WAC

CAYB

FUS

FAR

KACM

DHJ

HUSA

RSB

CRA

OCS

OCK

MCO

IRT

RCOZ

Locations of the 2018–19 Botola teams

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
AS FAR	Rabat	Stade Moulay Abdellah	53,000
Chabab Rif Al Hoceima	Al Hoceima	Stade Mimoun Al Arsi	12,000
Difaâ El Jadidi	El Jadida	Stade El Abdi	15,000
Fath Union Sport	Rabat	Stade de FUS	15,000
Hassania Agadir	Agadir	Stade Adrar	45,000
IR Tanger	Tanger	Grand Stade de Tanger	45,000
Kawkab Marrakech	Marrakech	Stade de Marrakech	45,000
Moghreb Tétouan	Tétouan	Saniat Rmel	15,000
RSB Berkane	Berkane	Stade Municipal	30,000
Mouloudia Oujda	Oujda	Honneur Stadium	35,000
Olympic Safi	Safi	Stade El Massira	10,000
Olympique Khouribga	Khouribga	Complexe OCP	10,000
Raja Casablanca	Casablanca	Stade Mohamed V	67,000
Rapide Oued Zem	Oued Zem	Stade Municipal	3,000
Wydad Athletic Club	Casablanca	Stade Mohamed V	67,000
Youssoufia Berrechid	Berrechid	Stade Municipal	5,000

Personnel and kits

Teams	Managers	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Association sportive des FAR	Carlos Alós Ferrer	Joma
Chabab Rif Al Hoceima	Saïd Chiba	Bang Sports	Al Omrane, CGI
Difaâ El Jadidi	Ezzaki Badou	Bang Sports	innjoo, Radio Mars, TGCC1
FUS Rabat	Walid Regragui	Uhlsport	Emaar, Novec1, LafargeHolcim23
Hassania Agadir	Miguel Ángel Gamondi	Uhlsport	Afriquia, Skoda1, Souss-Massa2, Joly3
IR Tanger	Abdelouahed Belqassem	Gloria sport	Moroccan Airports Authority, Renault, APM Terminals, Tanger-Med, Valencia1, STG telecom[1]2, RCI Finance Maroc3
Kawkab Marrakesh	Azedine Benis	Puma	Poste Maroc, Sanad, CitySport, Menara Mall1
Moghreb Tétouan	Tarik Sektioui	Legea	Halib Tetaouen, Al Omrane1, Radio Mars
Mouloudia Oujda	Abdelaziz Kerkache	Bang Sports
OC Khouribga	Rachid Taoussi	Bang Sports	OCP
Olympic Safi	Hicham Dmii	Uhlsport	Fitco
Raja Casablanca	Patrice Carteron	Legea	Siera, Nor'Dar, Prodec, Infinix, Hyundai1, Or Blanc1, MarsaMaroc23, Atlanta Assurances23
Rapide Oued Zem	Hassan Benabicha	Bang Sports	Morih
RSB Berkane	Mounir Jaouani	Bang Sports	Souiri, Afriquia1
Wydad Casablanca	Faouzi Benzarti	Macron	Ingelec, Alitkane2, Koutoubia2
Youssoufia Berrechid	Said Seddiki	Bang Sports	Dalaa

1. ^ On the back of shirt.

2. ^ On the sleeves.

3. ^ On the shorts.

• Maroc Telecom is a sponsor for all the league's teams.
• Additionally, referee kits are made by Adidas.

Managerial changes

Teams	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
AS FAR	Abderrazak Khairi	End of contract	20 May 2018	Mohamed Fakhir	21 May 2018
Olympic Safi	Mohamed Amine Benhachem	End of contract	30 May 2018	Hicham Dmii	9 June 2018
OC Khouribga	Bernard Simondi	End of contract	30 June 2018	Mohamed Amine Benhachem	3 July 2018
Chabab Rif Al Hoceima	Nacer Sandjak	End of contract	30 June 2018	Mimoun Ouaali	25 July 2018
Wydad Casablanca	Faouzi Benzarti	Contract termination	28 July 2018	Abdelhadi Sektioui	3 August 2018
Chabab Rif Al Hoceima	Mimoun Ouaali	Sacked	7 September 2018	Juan Pedro Benali	13 September 2018
IR Tanger	Driss El Mrabet	Contract termination	25 September 2018	Ahmad Al-Ajlani	25 September 2018
Wydad Casablanca	Abdelhadi Sektioui	Contract termination	25 September 2018	René Girard	29 September 2018
Difaâ El Jadidi	Abderrahim Talib	Resigned	26 October 2018	Hubert Velud	30 October 2018
Wydad Casablanca	René Girard	Resigned	23 November 2018	Faouzi Benzarti	27 November 2018
AS FAR	Mohamed Fakhir	Contract termination	7 December 2018	Mouhcine Bouhlal (interim)	11 December 2018
IR Tanger	Ahmad Al-Ajlani	Contract termination	25 December 2018	Abdelouahed Belqassem	25 December 2018
Kawkab Marrakesh	Faouzi Jamal	Contract termination	26 December 2018	Aziz El Amri	26 December 2018
AS FAR	Mouhcine Bouhlal (interim)	End of tenure as caretaker	21 January 2019	Carlos Alós Ferrer	21 January 2019
Raja Casablanca	Juan Carlos Garrido	Contract termination	28 January 2019	Patrice Carteron	30 January 2019
OC Khouribga	Mohamed Amine Benhachem	Sacked	28 January 2019	Rachid Taoussi	29 January 2019
Moghreb Tétouan	Abdelouahed Benhsain	Sacked	9 February 2019	Tarik Sektioui	11 February 2019
Difaâ El Jadidi	Hubert Velud	Sacked	10 February 2019	Ezzaki Badou	11 February 2019
Kawkab Marrakesh	Aziz El Amri	Sacked	18 February 2019	Azedine Benis (interim)	18 February 2019
Rapide Oued Zem	Tarek Mostafa	Contract termination	25 February 2019	Hassan Benabicha	1 March 2019
Kawkab Marrakesh	Azedine Benis (interim)	End of tenure as caretaker	12 March 2019	Jawad Milani	12 March 2019
Kawkab Marrakesh	Jawad Milani	End of tenure as caretaker	12 March 2019	Azedine Benis	12 March 2019
Chabab Rif Al Hoceima	Juan Pedro Benali	Contract termination	5 April 2019	Saïd Chiba	7 April 2019

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Wydad Casablanca (C)	30	17	8	5	56	30	+26	59	Qualification for Champions League
2	Raja Casablanca	30	15	10	5	56	36	+20	55
3	Hassania Agadir	30	12	9	9	30	22	+8	45[a]	Qualification for Confederation Cup
4	Olympic Safi	30	12	9	9	37	38	−1	45[a]	Participation in Arab Club Champions Cup[b]
5	IR Tanger	30	9	13	8	27	30	−3	40
6	Youssoufia Berrechid	30	10	9	11	36	37	−1	39[c]
7	RSB Berkane	30	8	15	7	34	34	0	39[c]	Qualification for Confederation Cup[d]
8	Difaâ El Jadidi	30	9	12	9	30	32	−2	39[c]
9	FUS Rabat	30	8	14	8	25	25	0	38
10	Rapide Oued Zem	30	7	16	7	28	31	−3	37
11	Olympique Khouribga	30	8	12	10	38	42	−4	36
12	Mouloudia Oujda	30	8	11	11	31	38	−7	35
13	Moghreb Tétouan	30	8	10	12	29	32	−3	34
14	AS FAR	30	7	12	11	32	32	0	33
15	Kawkab Marrakesh (R)	30	7	9	14	34	40	−6	30	Relegation to Botola 2
16	Chabab Rif Al Hoceima (R)	30	6	9	15	27	51	−24	27

Source: frmf.ma
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Fair-play points; 7) Play-off.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Head-to-head: Hassania Agadir: 3 points, +2 GD; Olympic Safi: 3 points, −2 GD.
2. Wydad Casablanca and Raja Casablanca are also participated in the Arab Club Champions Cup.
3. Head-to-head: Youssoufia Berrechid: 7 points, RS Berkane 5 points, Difaâ El Jadidi 3 points.
4. RS Berkane are Moroccan Throne Cup winners.

Results

Home \ Away	WAC	RCA	HUSA	OCS	IRT	CAYB	RSB	DHJ	FUS	RCOZ	OCK	MCO	MAT	FAR	KACM	CRA
Wydad AC	—	2–2	2–1	1–0	2–2	3–2	0–0	3–0	3–0	3–0	4–1	2–0	2–1	1–0	3–1	6–1
Raja CA	0–1	—	2–1	1–0	1–0	3–3	1–1	2–0	0–0	3–2	2–3	2–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	6–0
HUS Agadir	2–1	0–0	—	3–0	0–1	1–1	3–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–2	5–1	1–0
OC Safi	2–1	0–1	2–1	—	1–0	0–3	3–0	3–2	3–3	1–0	1–1	1–3	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–1
IR Tanger	1–0	1–1	1–0	0–2	—	1–0	0–0	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–0	3–2	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–1
CAY Berrechid	1–2	1–2	1–0	2–1	1–2	—	1–0	1–1	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–0	2–0	1–2
RS Berkane	3–2	3–7	0–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	0–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0
DH Jadidi	1–1	2–4	1–1	0–0	1–0	0–1	1–1	—	1–2	2–0	2–1	1–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–0
Fath US	0–1	1–0	2–0	3–0	0–2	1–1	0–0	0–0	—	1–1	2–1	0–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	0–0
RC Oued Zem	0–0	3–3	0–1	1–1	0–1	2–0	2–1	1–1	1–0	—	1–0	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	1–0
OC Khouribga	0–1	1–1	0–0	4–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	—	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–0	2–1
MC Oujda	2–3	1–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	1–2	3–2	0–0	1–0	—	1–0	1–1	2–1	1–0
MA Tétouan	1–1	3–1	1–2	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–1	0–2	4–1	—	0–0	1–4	2–1
AS FAR	1–1	2–1	0–1	2–3	0–0	3–4	1–1	0–1	2–0	0–0	3–2	1–1	0–2	—	0–2	3–0
KAC Marrakesh	3–3	1–2	0–2	1–2	3–1	4–1	0–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–1	3–1	1–1	0–0	—	1–1
CR Al Hoceima	2–1	1–2	1–0	1–1	2–3	2–1	0–1	1–1	0–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–4	1–4	1–0	—

Updated to match(es) played on 11 June 2019. Source: Goalzz
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

As of 11 June 2019.^[2][3]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Mouhcine Iajour	Raja CA	19
	Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba	RS Berkane
3	Koffi Boua	OC Safi	14
4	Simon Msuva	DH Jadidi	13
5	Khalid Hachadi	OC Khouribga	12
6	Reda Hajhouj	OC Khouribga	11
7	N'Tji Amadou Samake	KAC Marrakesh	10
8	Mehdi Naghmi	IR Tanger	9
9	Zakaria Hadraf	Raja CA	8
	Abdoulaye Diarra	RC Oued Zem
	Michael Babatunde	Wydad AC

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Round
Mouhssine Iajour	Raja CA	DH Jadidi	4–2 (A)	30 January 2019	15
Koffi Boua	OC Safi	DH Jadidi	3–2 (H)	9 March 2019	21
Zakaria Hadraf	Raja CA	RS Berkane	7–3 (A)	13 March 2019	21
Reda Hajhouj	OC Khouribga	OC Safi	4–4 (H)	27 April 2019	26

(H) – Home; (A) – Away

Annual awards

The UMFP (Union Marocaine des Footballeurs Professionnels), in partnership with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, organized the Night of Stars Award in its 5th edition, which celebrated the brilliants of the Botola Pro for the 2018/19 season.^[4]

Award	Winner	Club
Manager of the Season	Faouzi Benzarti	Wydad AC
Player of the Season	Mohamed Aziz	RS Berkane
Foreign Player of the Season	Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba	RS Berkane
Promising Player of the Season	Soufiane Karkache	MC Oujda
Goalkeeper of the Season	Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti	Wydad AC

Attendances

#	Football club	Average attendance
1	IR Tanger	17,877
2	Wydad AC	17,393
3	AS FAR	15,700
4	Raja CA	15,038
5	Hassania Agadir	10,970
6	Olympique Safi	10,284
7	MA Tétouan	9,727
8	KACM	9,433
9	Olympique Khouribga	8,130
10	RC Oued Zem	6,573
11	DHJ	5,750
12	MC Oujda	5,664
13	CRA	5,281
14	Youssoufia Berrechid	5,125
15	RS Berkane	4,700
16	Fath Union Sport	3,533

See also

• 2018 Moroccan Throne Cup
• 2018–19 Botola 2
• 2018-19 CAF Champions League
• 2018-19 CAF Confederation Cup
• 2018–19 Arab Club Champions Cup