2019–20 Botola

Botola
Season	2019–20
Dates	14 September 2019 – 11 October 2020
Champions	Raja CA; 12th title
Relegated	OC Khouribga; R Beni Mellal
Champions League	Raja CA; Wydad AC
Confederation Cup	RS Berkane
Matches played	240
Goals scored	524 (2.18 per match)
Top goalscorer	Brahim El Bahraoui; (16 goals)
Biggest home win	RCA Zemamra 5–0 RS Berkane; (15 January 2020)
Biggest away win	OC Khouribga 0–4 Wydad AC; (12 November 2019); CAY Berrechid 0–4 RC Oued Zem; (29 December 2019)
Highest scoring	RC Oued Zem 5–3 IR Tanger; (10 October 2020)
Longest winning run	4 matches; DH Jadidi; RS Berkane; AS FAR; Fath US
Longest unbeaten run	11 matches; RS Berkane
Longest winless run	18 matches; R Beni Mellal
Longest losing run	7 matches; R Beni Mellal
	← 2018–19 2020–21 → All statistics correct as of 11 October 2020.

The 2019–20 Botola, is the 63rd season of the Premier League and the 9th under its new format of Moroccan Pro League, the top Moroccan professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1956.^[1]

Wydad Casablanca came into the season as defending champions of the 2018–19 season. Nahdat Zemamra and Raja Beni Mellal entered as the two promoted teams from the 2018–19 Botola 2.

The season started on 14 September 2019, and was scheduled to end on 1 July 2020.^[2] However, the season was suspended in March 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco, then resumed in July and ended in 11 October 2020.^[3]

Teams

Stadium and locations

Locations of the 2019–20 Botola teams

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
AS FAR	Rabat	Stade Moulay Abdellah	65,000
Difaâ El Jadidi	El Jadida	Stade El Abdi	15,000
Fath Union Sport	Rabat	Stade Moulay Hassan	12,000
Hassania Agadir	Agadir	Stade Adrar	45,480
IR Tanger	Tanger	Stade Ibn Batouta	45,000
Moghreb Tétouan	Tétouan	Saniat Rmel	15,000
Mouloudia Oujda	Oujda	Honneur Stadium	35,000
Nahdat Berkane	Berkane	Stade Municipal	15,000
Nahdat Zemamra	Zemamra	Stade Municipal	5,000
Olympic Safi	Safi	Stade El Massira	15,000
Olympique Khouribga	Khouribga	Complexe OCP	10,000
Raja Beni Mellal	Beni Mellal	Honneur Stadium	15,000
Raja Casablanca	Casablanca	Stade Mohamed V	67,000
Rapide Oued Zem	Oued Zem	Stade Municipal	8,000
Wydad Athletic Club	Casablanca	Stade Mohamed V	67,000
Youssoufia Berrechid	Berrechid	Stade Municipal	8,000

Number of teams by regions

	Regions of Morocco	Number of teams	Teams
1	Casablanca-Settat	5	CAY Berrechid, DH Jadidi, Raja CA, RCA Zemamra and Wydad AC
2	Béni Mellal-Khénifra	3	OC Khouribga, R Beni Mellal and RC Oued Zem
3	Oriental	2	MC Oujda and RS Berkane
	Rabat-Salé-Kénitra		AS FAR and Fath US
	Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima		IR Tanger and MA Tétouan
6	Marrakech-Safi	1	OC Safi
6	Souss-Massa	1	HUS Agadir

Personnel and kits


Teams	Managers	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Association sportive des FAR	Abderrahim Talib	Joma
Difaâ El Jadidi	Jamal Amanallah	Jako	innjoo, Radio Mars, TGCC^[4]
FUS Rabat	Mustapha El Khalfi	Uhlsport	Emaar, Novec¹, LafargeHolcim²
Hassania Agadir	Mustapha Ouchrif	Legea	Afriquia, Skoda, Souss-Massa^[5]
IR Tanger	Juan Pedro Benali	Gloria sport	Renault, APM Terminals, Tanger-Med, ONDA, STG telecom², RCI Finance Maroc³
Moghreb Tétouan	Jamal Drideb	Bang Sports	Halib Titawen, Al Omrane¹, Radio Mars²^[6]
Mouloudia Oujda	Abdelhak Benchikha	Bang Sports^[7]
Nahdat Berkane	Tarik Sektioui	Bang Sports	Souiri, Gold Vision¹, Afriquia¹
Nahdat Zemamra	Otmane El Assas	Bang Sports	Itqan, Igaser, Sté. du Sahel et Sahara¹, SomaSteel²
OC Khouribga	Abdelaziz Kerkache	Bang Sports	OCP
Olympic Safi	Abdelhadi Sektioui	Bang Sports	Fitco
Raja Beni Mellal	Mohamed Madihi	Bang Sports
Raja Casablanca	Jamal Sellami	Legea	Siera, OLA Energy, Nor'Dar, MarsaMaroc¹, Atlanta Assurances²³^[8]
Rapide Oued Zem	Mounir Chebil	Bang Sports	Morih
Wydad Casablanca	Juan Carlos Garrido	Macron	Ingelec, Or Blanc¹, Hyundai²³, Alitkane³^[9]
Youssoufia Berrechid	Abderrahim Nejjar	Bang Sports	Dalaa, Ould Bouazza, Itqan, Tiger¹, Samir²

1. ^ On the back of shirt.

2. ^ On the sleeves.

3. ^ On the shorts.

Additionally, referee kits are made by Adidas.

Managerial changes


Teams	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Nahdat Zemamra	Mohamed Borji	End of contract	5 May 2019	Youssef Fertout	5 May 2019
AS FAR	Carlos Alós Ferrer	Contract termination	10 June 2019	Abderrahim Talib	18 June 2019
Mouloudia Oujda	Abdelaziz Kerkache	Contract termination	11 June 2019	Abdelhak Benchikha	12 June 2019
Ittihad Tanger	Abdelouahed Belqassem	Contract termination	26 June 2019	Nabil Neghiz	26 June 2019
Wydad Casablanca	Faouzi Benzarti	Contract termination	4 July 2019	Zoran Manojlovic	16 July 2019
Moghreb Tétouan	Tarik Sektioui	Sacked	23 July 2019	Ángel Viadero	1 August 2019
Olympic Safi	Hicham Dmii	Resigned	29 July 2019	Mohamed Guisser	31 July 2019
Nahdat Berkane	Mounir Jaouani	Sacked	2 September 2019	Tarik Sektioui	19 September 2019
Rapide Oued Zem	Hassan Benabicha	Contract termination	26 October 2019	Mounir Chebil	14 November 2019
Ittihad Tanger	Nabil Neghiz	Contract termination	26 October 2019	Abdelouahed Belqassem (interim)	26 October 2019
Raja Casablanca	Patrice Carteron	Sacked	11 November 2019	Jamal Sellami	11 November 2019
Ittihad Tanger	Abdelouahed Belqassem (interim)	End of tenure as caretaker	19 November 2019	Hicham Dmii	19 November 2019
Hassania Agadir	Miguel Ángel Gamondi	Sacked	20 November 2019	Mohamed Fakhir	20 November 2019
Raja Beni Mellal	Mourad Fellah	Contract termination	26 November 2019	Aziz El Amri	30 November 2019
OC Khouribga	Rachid Taoussi	Resigned	29 November 2019	Ahmad Al-Ajlani	19 December 2019
Nahdat Zemamra	Youssef Fertout	Sacked	16 December 2019	Mohamed Borji (interim)	16 December 2019
Difaâ El Jadidi	Ezzaki Badou	Contract termination	23 December 2019	Abdelkader Amrani	28 December 2019
Youssoufia Berrechid	Said Sediki	Contract termination	31 December 2019	Ferid Chouchane	3 January 2020
Nahdat Zemamra	Mohamed Borji (interim)	End of tenure as caretaker	1 January 2020	Saïd Chiba	1 January 2020
Raja Beni Mellal	Aziz El Amri	Contract termination	10 January 2020	Mohamed Madihi	10 January 2020
Wydad Casablanca	Zoran Manojlovic	Contract termination	13 January 2020	Sébastien Desabre	21 January 2020
Hassania Agadir	Mohamed Fakhir	Sacked	21 January 2020	Mustapha Ouchrif	31 January 2020
FUS Rabat	Walid Regragui	Contract termination	22 January 2020	Mustapha El Khalfi	22 January 2020
IR Tanger	Hicham Dmii	Contract termination	26 January 2020	Juan Pedro Benali	26 January 2020
Wydad Casablanca	Sébastien Desabre	Contract termination	25 February 2020	Juan Carlos Garrido	25 February 2020
Moghreb Tétouan	Ángel Viadero	Sacked	27 February 2020	Jamal Drideb	28 February 2020
Olympic Safi	Mohamed Guisser	Contract termination	3 March 2020	Abdelhadi Sektioui	7 March 2020
Youssoufia Berrechid	Ferid Chouchane	Resigned	6 March 2020	Omar Azmani	6 March 2020
Difaâ El Jadidi	Abdelkader Amrani	Contract termination	19 May 2020	Jamal Amanallah	19 May 2020
Youssoufia Berrechid	Omar Azmani	Sacked	20 August 2020	Abderrahim Nejjar	20 August 2020
OC Khouribga	Ahmad Al-Ajlani	Resigned	27 August 2020	Abdelaziz Kerkache	27 August 2020
Nahdat Zemamra	Saïd Chiba	Sacked	22 September 2020	Otmane El Assas (interim)	23 September 2020

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Raja Casablanca (C, Q)	30	17	9	4	43	23	+20	60	Qualification for Champions League
2	Wydad Casablanca (Q)	30	17	8	5	52	28	+24	59	Qualification for Champions League
3	RS Berkane (Q)	30	15	12	3	35	23	+12	57	Qualification for Confederation Cup
4	FUS Rabat	30	13	10	7	39	30	+9	49
5	Mouloudia Oujda	30	12	12	6	35	28	+7	48
6	AS FAR	30	12	9	9	45	34	+11	45
7	Moghreb Tétouan	30	10	10	10	30	27	+3	40
8	Hassania Agadir	30	9	9	12	34	38	−4	36^[a]
9	Rapide Oued Zem	30	9	9	12	30	30	0	36^[a]
10	Youssoufia Berrechid	30	10	6	14	33	44	−11	36^[a]
11	Difaâ El Jadidi	30	8	11	11	26	28	−2	35
12	Nahdat Zemamra	30	8	10	12	40	41	−1	34
13	Olympic Safi	30	6	15	9	25	34	−9	33
14	IR Tanger	30	7	11	12	20	36	−16	32
15	Olympique Khouribga (R)	30	6	10	14	24	38	−14	28	Relegation to Botola 2
16	Raja Beni Mellal (R)	30	1	9	20	13	42	−29	12	Relegation to Botola 2

Updated to match(es) played on 11 October 2020. 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; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ ^a ^b ^c Head-to-head: Hassania Agadir: 8 points, Rapide Oued Zem 5 points, Youssoufia Berrechid 2 points.

Results

Home \ Away	CAYB	DHJ	FAR	FUS	HUSA	IRT	MAT	MCO	OCK	OCS	RBM	RCA	RCAZ	RCOZ	RSB	WAC
CAY Berrechid	—	1–0	2–4	1–1	3–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	3–2	1–2	0–4	0–0	3–2
DH Jadidi	2–1	—	1–1	1–2	1–2	1–1	2–0	0–0	1–0	1–1	1–0	0–0	2–1	1–1	0–0	0–1
AS FAR	0–1	1–3	—	1–2	1–1	4–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–0	1–0	1–0	5–2	2–0	0–1	1–1
Fath US	1–0	2–1	2–4	—	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	5–2	1–1	0–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–2
HUS Agadir	2–0	2–1	2–1	2–1	—	2–1	1–1	0–1	1–2	2–2	1–0	0–2	1–1	0–1	0–1	1–1
IR Tanger	2–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	—	1–0	0–0	1–1	1–2	1–0	1–4	0–0	0–0	1–1	0–2
MA Tétouan	2–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	1–2	0–0	—	4–0	2–1	1–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	0–0	1–1
MC Oujda	3–1	1–1	0–2	2–1	2–1	1–0	1–0	—	3–0	1–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	1–0	0–1	1–1
OC Khouribga	4–1	1–0	0–1	1–1	0–0	0–1	2–2	1–4	—	1–1	1–0	1–2	1–0	0–0	0–1	0–4
OC Safi	1–0	1–0	1–1	0–0	2–0	0–0	0–0	2–2	1–1	—	1–0	0–0	1–3	1–0	0–1	1–2
R Beni Mellal	0–2	0–0	0–3	2–2	1–3	0–1	0–2	1–2	0–0	0–0	—	1–2	2–2	1–0	0–1	1–2
Raja CA	2–0	3–1	2–1	0–2	2–1	0–1	1–0	1–1	2–1	2–0	2–0	—	3–1	1–0	2–2	1–0
RCA Zemamra	3–2	1–2	1–2	1–1	2–2	1–0	1–2	1–0	0–0	1–1	1–1	1–2	—	2–0	5–0	1–2
RC Oued Zem	0–0	1–0	2–2	0–0	2–1	5–3	2–1	0–0	0–1	3–1	3–1	0–0	2–1	—	0–0	1–2
RS Berkane	1–1	1–1	2–1	0–1	1–1	2–0	4–1	1–0	3–1	1–1	1–0	2–2	1–2	2–1	—	2–1
Wydad AC	3–1	0–1	1–0	1–1	3–2	4–0	2–1	1–1	3–2	4–1	3–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	0–1	—

Updated to match(es) played on 11 October 2020. 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 October 2020^[10]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Brahim El Bahraoui	RC Oued Zem	16
2	Noah Sadaoui	MC Oujda	12
2	Karim El Berkaoui	HUS Agadir	12
4	Joseph Guédé Gnadou	AS FAR	10
	Soufiane Rahimi	Raja CA
	Reda Hajhouj	OC Khouribga
	Mohamed Aziz	RS Berkane
	Abdessamad El Mobarky	RCA Zemamra
9	Hamid Ahaddad	Raja CA	9
9	Jean Joseph Kombous	Fath US	9

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Round
Ismail Khafi	MC Oujda	OC Khouribga	4–1 (A)	29 November 2019	8
Reda Hajhouj	OC Khouribga	CAY Berrechid	4–1 (H)	21 December 2019	10
Mohamed Aziz	RS Berkane	OC Khouribga	3–1 (H)	2 January 2020	9
Brahim El Bahraoui⁴	RC Oued Zem	IR Tanger	5–3 (H)	10 October 2020	30