Botola Pro: RS Berkane and Wydad defeat top flight newcomers

Morocco’s top flight Botola Pro is officially underway and it was a winning start on Friday for title contenders RS Berkane and Wydad Casablanca.

RS Berkane dominate in Botola Pro opener

Mounir Chouiar, signed for a massive fee of over €1 million by Botola Pro standards, enjoyed a strong debut for reigning Botola Pro and CAF Confederation Cup champions RS Berkane. The acquisition from Bulgarian champions Ludogorets opened the scoring in the 17th minute as RSB marched to an easy 4-0 victory over newly-promoted Olympique Dcheira.

Mohamed El Morabit doubled the advantage before providing a beautiful pass to set up 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) champion Youssef Mehri to make it 3-0 by halftime for the Orange Boys. Another new signing, Amine Azri, added one more in the second half to complete the domination.

Wydad do just enough

In Casablanca, Wydad had a more difficult time with another team promoted from the second tier Botola 2, Kawkab Marrakech. However, a first half goal from Walid Sabbar was enough for The Red Castle to secure a 1-0 victory.

Sabbar provided the finishing touch to a suspenseful buildup from the hosts at the Stade Mohammed V, firing in a low shot through a crowd of Kawkab Marrakech defenders. It was not the most convincing victory for Wydad, who were fortunate to not fall behind early when former Berkane forward Youssef Zghoudi failed to convert a penalty kick for KACM.

After a nightmare 2024-25 season that ended with humiliation at the FIFA Club World Cup, Wydad are off to a winning start.

The other two matches from Friday ended in draws. IR Tanger and Hassania Agadir played to a 1-1 result in the first match of the campaign while Throne Cup winners Olympique Safi and Union Touarga played to the same result.

Friday Results

IR Tanger 1-1 Hassania Agadir

Olympique Dcheira 0-4 RS Berkane

Olympique Safi 1-1 Union Touarga

Wydad AC 1-0 Kawkab Marrakech

⚽ Follow Pan-Africa Football across platforms for real-time news and stories.