Wydad Athletic Club

Wydad Athletic Club. Wydad AC (@WACofficiel). Affection for these guys run deep in Casablanca and across Morocco—born from imperial injustice, shaped by the country’s early nationalism and today standing shoulder to shoulder with the world's best at the #FCWC25 - so let's #GetTheBadgeIn for one of North Africa’s finest.

The club was founded on 8 May 1937, not with football in mind, but to solve a problem: local Moroccans were being denied access to public swimming pools, which at the time were reserved for Europeans under the French protectorate. A group of young Moroccan intellectuals, led by Mohamed Benjelloun Touimi, came together to challenge this exclusion by forming a legitimate sports club. They called it Wydad, meaning “love” or “affection” in Arabic—a word chosen during a late-night meeting when a film by Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, titled Wydad, played in the background.

The club initially focused on water polo, but it quickly became clear that sport could be a platform for national identity as well as recreation. The football section was officially created in 1939, led by coach Père Jégo, and within a few short years, Wydad had grown into a competitive force.

In a time when Moroccan clubs were often subject to colonial regulations and bias, Wydad's presence in league competitions was a quiet but steady form of resistance. Even after suffering administrative relegation in the early 1940s, Wydad bounced back—becoming the first Moroccan team to win the North African Championship three times in a row between 1948 and 1950.

The club’s badge—a red circle with stylised Arabic calligraphy spelling out "Nadi al-Wydad al-Riyadi" (Wydad Athletic Club)—became iconic and provided a clear sense of Arabic identity for its fans in a game dominated by European nations.

In 1960, Wydad made the deliberate choice to include a white crescent in the badge. A clear nod to Islamic culture and Moroccan identity. It was the first Arabic club to do so, and it signalled Wydad’s intent to be more than just a football team—it was a cultural and national symbol in the making.

Wydad’s rise coincided with the evolution of Casablanca itself. Originally a modest port, Casablanca developed rapidly in the early 20th century into Morocco’s economic engine. The French built wide boulevards, tramlines, and industrial zones; Moroccan workers arrived from the countryside in droves, filling new factories and neighbourhoods. Casablanca’s textile, shipping, and food processing industries thrived, and with that growth came a cultural richness—cafés, cinemas, music halls, and football pitches.

Wydad’s supporters came from these working-class neighbourhoods. As the city became more industrial, more politically aware, and more culturally expressive, Wydad absorbed that energy and projected it onto the pitch. Matches became more than sport—they were gatherings of identity. Especially in fierce derbies against city rivals Raja CA who also embody national and Islamic pride with their green and white colours and nationalist chants.

The club's home ground, Stade Mohammed V, holds over 67,000 spectators and is one of the largest and most iconic venues in African football. It’s also the site of some of the continent’s most vibrant displays of support. Wydad’s ultras, known as Ultras Winners 2005, are famous for choreographed tifos (when the crowd all hold up a bit of card to make an image), banners, and chants—bringing together the art, protest, humour, and passion of their origins.

On the pitch, Wydad have delivered. They’ve won 22 Botola Pro titles, 9 Throne Cups, and 3 CAF Champions League titles (1992, 2017, and 2022), becoming one of the most decorated clubs in Africa. The 2022 victory over Al Ahly in Casablanca was especially memorable—a performance that reminded everyone of the club’s stature on the continental stage and a clash of the North African heavy weights.

In recent years, under president Said Naciri, the club has modernised its operations, built a stronger youth academy, and expanded its presence across other sports. Wydad isn’t just a football club—it’s part of a larger institution, with teams in basketball, handball, and volleyball. The red badge is worn across courts and arenas, not just football fields.

However that badge is worn, it represents a long line of fans, athletes, owners and footballers that have for nearly a century embodied Arabic pride. These guys are well worth a watch - North African and Arabic football in general is going to go from strength to strength - and affection for Wydad will only grow.