Wydad AC – Mokwena, eight months without pay: the fiasco at the end of the season!

While Renaissance Sportive de Berkane has already sealed the fate of the Moroccan championship, winning the Botola Pro title with several rounds remaining, Wydad Athletic Club’s situation is spiraling into institutional collapse. Out of contention in the league and prematurely eliminated from the Coupe du Trône in the Round of 16, the Casablanca club has nothing left to play for this season… except its credibility.

And yet, Wydad is supposed to represent Morocco—and more broadly the African continent—at the next Club World Cup, scheduled for the United States in 2025. A tremendous honor, but one whose preparation now seems completely disconnected from the reality on the ground. At the center of the storm: Rulani Mokwena, a South African coach on the verge of collapse after going eight months without receiving a single salary.

Management unworthy of the club’s standing

Arriving last July amidst euphoria, Mokwena embodied the hope of a technical revolution. Young, methodical, and experienced in the demands of the African top flight, the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach had everything it took to revive the Wydad team. But in Casablanca, the promises quickly gave way to disillusionment.

Since his arrival, not a single cent has been paid to him, according to sources relayed by SABC Sport. Worse still, his entire staff—comprised of experienced technicians like Allan Freese, Sinethemba Badela, and Sean Louw—finds itself in the same situation. Mokwena has even been asked to quietly finance part of the training equipment, given the club’s disorganization.

A blank season and a neglected locker room

Wydad’s sporting success is unresponsive. Prematurely eliminated from the Coupe du Trône and trailing Berkane in the league standings, the club is experiencing one of its most lackluster seasons of the decade. Loyal fans are beginning to express their weariness with the excesses of a management team incapable of offering even minimal management guarantees.

In this detrimental context, Mokwena has still not authorized his lawyers to file a complaint with FIFA for breach of contract – a contract signed until June 2027. The coach continues to fulfill his duties, without support, without visibility, and without a salary. This choice illustrates his professional rigor, but it cannot last forever.

The Club World Cup in doubt

The greatest paradox remains: despite this widespread debacle, WAC will represent Morocco at the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States. A global competition, with the world’s eyes fixed on the performance of the African representatives.

To date, nothing suggests that Wydad, in its current state, is capable of assuming this role. The squad is demotivated, the finances are in the red, and the staff is on the verge of departure. Unless an immediate administrative overhaul is made, there is a serious risk that the club will arrive at this global event in disastrous shape, far removed from the prestige it claims to uphold.

An inevitable breakup?

The question is no longer if Mokwena will leave Wydad, but when. Internal discussions are pointing toward an imminent separation, even before the final days of the championship. The departure of the South African technician, under these conditions, would be the sad epilogue of a project torpedoed by amateurism and contractual bad faith.

EDITOR NOTE: This article is translated from the original written in French by Omar Chraibi for Pan-Africa Football.