Other Leagues
Double victory for Morocco’s Lekjaa as Renaissance Sportive de Berkane gets a historic triumph in Botola Pro
First, Fouzi Lekjaa coasted home to an overwhelming victory at the election into FIFA Council on Wednesday in Cairo. Three days later, the club he mentored since 2009, before he became the president of the Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), has just emerged as Moroccan champions!
Last Saturday, March 15, 2025, will forever be etched in the annals of Moroccan football. Renaissance Sportive de Berkane (RSB) clinched, for the first time in its history, the highly coveted Botola Pro title.
This crowning achievement came during the 25th matchday, where RSB faced Union Sportive de Touarga (UST) at the municipal stadium in Berkane.
With a comfortable 17-point lead over its closest rivals, AS FAR and Wydad de Casablanca, RSB sealed its destiny as national champions.
✅ An Ascendant Journey: From Humble Beginnings to National Glory
Founded in 1938 under the name Association Sportive de Berkane, RSB long navigated the lower divisions of Moroccan football. In 1976, the club adopted the name Union Islamique de Berkane, before merging in 1981 with the local Jeunesse Sportive to become the Renaissance Sportive de Berkane we know today.
Despite some flashes of brilliance, such as a runner-up finish in 1983 and a Throne Cup final in 1987, the club struggled to establish itself consistently among the elite.
✅ The Fouzi Lekjaa Era: A Radical Transformation
The transformation of RSB began in 2009 with the arrival of Fouzi Lekjaa as president.
Under his leadership, the club underwent a profound restructuring, both organizationally and financially.
Lekjaa invested in infrastructure, notably equipping the club with a modern training centre, and attracted major sponsors, ensuring financial stability.
This strategy bore fruit: RSB gained promotion to the second division in 2011, and to Botola Pro the following season. Under Lekjaa’s guidance, the club gradually established itself as a formidable force in Moroccan and African football.
✅ Continental Success and International Recognition
RSB did not just shine on the national stage. The club won the CAF Confederation Cup twice, in 2020 and 2022, and reached the final in 2019.
The municipal stadium in Berkane became an impregnable fortress, where African giants such as TP Mazembe, Club Sfaxien, and Zamalek stumbled.
Additionally, RSB secured the Throne Cup in 2018 and 2022, further solidifying its reputation as a consistent and high-performing club.
✅ The Hakim Benabdellah Era: Continuity and Ambition
In August 2019, Fouzi Lekjaa handed over the presidency to Hakim Benabdellah.
The latter continued the work begun, to make RSB a reference point in Morocco and Africa.
Under his leadership, the club continued its upward trajectory, reaping the rewards of rigorous organization and exemplary management. The Botola Pro title this season is the culmination of these efforts and a testament to RSB’s ever-renewed ambition.
✅ A Promising Future for RSB
This first national title is not an end in itself, but the beginning of a new era for Renaissance Sportive de Berkane.
The club now aspires to establish itself on the African stage and to enrich its trophy cabinet.
With solid management, modern infrastructure, and a clear strategic vision, RSB is well-equipped to meet future challenges and continue writing the history of Moroccan football.
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Jose Mourinho got off to a strong start in his first game as manager of Benfica as his side eased to a comfortable 3-0 win over AVS Futebol SAD in a Primeira Liga clash.
Mourinho, who left Turkey’s Fenerbahce last month, was appointed Benfica manager on Thursday, a day after Bruno Lage was sacked following their shock 3-2 Champions League defeat by Qarabag.
Heorhiy Sudakov opened the scoring for Benfica on the stroke of half-time, before Vangelis Pavlidis and Franjo Ivanovic sealed the three points on Saturday.
Despite the win, the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United boss was quick to keep expectations in check.
“We worked for an hour and a half yesterday,” the 62-year-old told reporters.
“I thank the players for their professionalism, their passion for the club, but at the same time for the way they welcomed me, the way I felt they were embracing what we were working on, and that’s it.
“If we had lost, it would obviously have been a disaster in terms of points. Winning isn’t phenomenal, but it was the best thing we could do, they needed to win after losing two points and after a psychologically heavy defeat.
“I told them after the game, it was good, but it was nothing extraordinary, hurry up, tomorrow there’s training in the morning.”
Benfica are second in the Portuguese top-flight standings with 13 points from five matches.
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A quarter of a century after waving Jose Mourinho out of the door, Benfica look to have finally coaxed the ‘Special One’ back — gambling that the sorcery which lit up Porto and dazzled Europe can now be summoned in Lisbon red.
Few recall that before Porto acclaimed him, Mourinho’s first managerial baptism came at Benfica back in 2000 in a tumultuous three-month stint that ended with fans chanting his name as he walked away.
Now, at 62, the prodigal son is set to return to Lisbon, Portuguese TV station RTP reported on Wednesday, amidst the wreckage of a 3-2 home collapse against Azerbaijan side Qarabag, who turned a two-goal deficit into a Champions League scalp.
Ironically, Benfica knocked Mourinho’s former employers Fenerbahce out of Europe barely a fortnight before the Turks bundled him out of a job.
Mourinho’s accomplishments are well known.
The Portuguese, who was born in the coastal town of Setubal, a half-hour’s drive from Lisbon, is widely regarded as one of the best coaches of his generation.
He has claimed league titles in four countries and is one of six managers to lift the European Cup with two clubs as well as the only coach to win all three current UEFA club competitions.
Mourinho’s brief stint after being appointed Benfica manager in 2000 was nothing short of dramatic but it was also crucial as he started building a name and legacy that has kept the club’s fans dreaming of what could have been for over two decades.
Hired in September that year to replace Jupp Heynckes after a dismal start to the season, with two wins out of five games under the German, Mourinho arrived at a club in political turmoil with presidential elections looming and a broken changing room.
Working alongside assistant Carlos Mozer, a former Benfica and Brazil great as a defender, Mourinho managed to block the outside noise from his players and transformed the struggling squad, culminating in a stunning 3-0 victory over heavily favoured local rivals Sporting that left fans jubilant.
But the honeymoon was short-lived. Despite a record of six wins, three draws and two defeats in 11 matches, Mourinho departed just two days after that triumph due to disagreements with newly-elected president Manuel Vilarinho.
“It is a very sad day for us, the day we end our contractual relationship with Benfica,” Mourinho announced on December 5, 2000, in a press room filled with fans chanting his name.
“(Before Mourinho) Benfica played terribly … We had a rubbish team; even I could have played, or at least been a regular substitute,” Vilarinho told reporters.
“And Mr Mourinho, who is an excellent coach and leader of men, almost a wizard, manages to change those mentalities.
“Mr Mourinho beat Sporting 3-0 … And this is a Saturday. On Monday, we have a board meeting and Mr. Mourinho says this: ‘Either you renew my contract for another year or tomorrow I won’t be coaching any more’.
“And he left … I think he never liked me, I don’t know why, he must have thought I didn’t like him,” Vilarinho added, trying to explain how Benfica allowed Mourinho to leave.
Mourinho went on to manage lowly Uniao Leira for a season before joining Porto and leading the Northern Portugal side to unprecedented success by winning back-to-back league titles, a Portuguese Cup, the 2003 UEFA Cup and Champions League in 2004.
After two decades of a roller-coaster career at Chelsea, Inter Milan, where he won the Champions League, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, AS Roma and Fenerbahce, he is heading home to finish a job that is 25 years overdue.
-Reuters
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Domestic football has resumed in Sudan for the first time in over two years, as the country launches a one-month competition featuring eight top clubs to determine its national champions amid ongoing conflict.
The return of league action comes despite the devastating civil war that has gripped Sudan since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The conflict has claimed more than 150,000 lives and displaced around 12 million people, creating the world’s largest displacement crisis.
Among the teams participating in the makeshift tournament are Sudan’s football giants, Al Hilal and Al Merrikh, who have dominated the domestic scene since the national league’s inception in 1965, winning all but four of the titles between them.
During the height of the conflict, both clubs were forced to relocate operations to Mauritania in West Africa, where they played league matches last season.
Al Hilal emerged champions in that campaign while hosting their continental fixtures on neutral ground due to security concerns.
Now back on Sudanese soil, both teams have kicked off their campaigns in the newly introduced Sudanese Elite Championship, which will determine the clubs eligible for the 2025/26 CAF continental competitions.
Matches are being staged in the relatively safer cities of Ad-Damer, located 430 kilometres from the embattled capital Khartoum, and Atbara, about 320 kilometres north.
Al Hilal began their campaign with a win over Al Merghani Kassala, while Al Merrikh also secured victory, edging Ahly Madani 1–0 over the weekend. Their much-anticipated derby clash is scheduled for the final day of the competition on July 22.
The other clubs in the competition are Zamalek, Umm Rawaba, Al Amal Atbara, Hay Al Wadi Nyala, and Merrikh Al Abyad. Each team will play the others once, with seven rounds of fixtures to be completed over the month.
Despite the return of league football, Sudan’s national team remains in limbo, having not played a home match since March 2023.
The Falcons of Jediane are set to compete at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco and are also in contention for a historic first appearance at the FIFA World Cup in 2026.
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