Football giants Raja Casablanca won the unusually difficult Botola Morocco football league title which stretched more than a year following the Covid-19 pandemic interruption, in dramatic fashion with a 2 – 1 victory over FAR Rabat on the final day of the competition on Sunday.
It was Raja’s fight league title in seven years as well as their 12th overall after pipping city rivals and defending champions Wydad Athletic Club (WAC) to the championship by just one point.
Raja’s last piece of silverware locally came in 2017 when they lifted the country’s premier cup competition, the Morocco Throne Cup but they won the CAF Super Cup last year after their triumph in the Caf Confederation Cup in 2018.
Dubbed the “league of suspense” the competition was certainly the toughest season that “Botola” has ever seen since its creation by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), in 1956 and reason is obviously the “corona pandemic” which obliged officials to suspend all football activities in the kingdom between March and July this year.
However, it could be an even bigger year for Raja who are also in the running for the CAF champions’ league title after making the semi-finals where they will play Egyptian side Zamalek.
Raja won nine of the last 17 matches that they played since the league race resumed in that country late July after a four-month Covid-19 induced break.
They also recorded seven draws and one defeat which was enough to hand them the “league of suspense” title.
While 60 points in 30 games were enough for Raja to lift the title, WAC’s 59 points made sure they finished as runners-up while Renaissance De Berkane (RSB) placed third with 57 points.
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The Moroccan league “Botola” started in a normal way last season, during the month of September 2019, and had seen very competitive games as usual in the past season.
However, there were some postponed matches from time to time due to different advancements of Moroccan clubs participating in the different regional and continental leagues and competitions at the same time.
On the 16th of March, 2020, “FRMF” announced that all football activities would cease in the kingdom due to the “Corona” pandemic, which itself started spreading in the country two weeks before.
By the time of that announcement, WAC were at the top of the table, but Raja Club Athletic, had a number of matches still to be played.
Compared to their rivals WAC and RSB, Raja had to play more matches this season because of other international competitions they were involved in. In fact, the Green Eagles advanced to the semi-finals of the Mohamed VI”Arab league of champions, a competition in which they had beaten WAC in the second round.
This was the main reason behind Raja accumulating more late matches than others; especially, that the team also advanced to the African champions league semi –finals, after very good achievements in the group stage and quarter finals.
In the end of July, “FRMF” announced that football will be resumed in the country.
Extensive good measures were taken for instance, to ensure that this will be in the ultimate conditions.
Stadiums were improved at the time of confinement in the country, and this included the quality of the pitch and the lighting which was upgraded by the “FRMF”.
Preventive and health measures were also made available by the “FRMF” and its medical staff, and clubs were asked indeed, to adhere and comply with them.
The starting point was the outstanding matches which were finished by August 8, before continuing with the 21st round of matches starting from August 10, 2020.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has managed to handle the repercussions of the pandemic at different levels with great skill and in full cooperation and coordination with the competent authorities.
From the outset, the FRMF ruled out any possibility of taking a hasty and hasty decision that could jeopardise the future of the national championship, as the sector remained linked to the general vision and approach of the state and the measures taken in this regard, from the announcement of the state of health emergency to the decision to ease the containment restrictions.
Despite this exceptional and difficult circumstance, the FRMF, under the chairmanship of Mr. Fouzi Lekjaa, remained very concerned and determined to resume national championships, both professional and amateur, as well as women’s and diversified football.
At the end of July, the Federation succeeded in taking up the challenge of resuming football activities after a forced interruption of about four months.
The Moroccan professional championship was indeed the first major championship on the African continent where first and second division clubs resumed competition and entered the competition to win the championship title or avoid relegation to the lower division.
