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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Former African champions Ismaily SC, the club beaten by Nigeria’s Enyimba FC in the historic 2003 CAF Champions League final, have been relegated from the Egyptian Premier League after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Wadi Degla FC on Tuesday.
The result confirmed the end of Ismaily’s long-standing stay in Egypt’s top division, as the three-time league champions finished bottom of the four-team relegation group with 19 points.
The relegation marks only the second time in the club’s history that they have dropped out of the top flight and the first since the 1957-58 season. Their earlier relegation came during the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, when the club lost several key players before eventually returning to the elite division.
Founded in 1924 in the north-eastern Egyptian city of Ismailia along the Suez Canal, Ismaily are regarded as one of Egypt’s oldest and most iconic clubs.
For Nigerian football followers, the club remains closely associated with Enyimba’s historic triumph in the 2003 CAF Champions League final — a landmark victory that made the Aba-based side the first Nigerian club to win Africa’s premier club competition.
Enyimba defeated Ismaily 2-1 on aggregate in the final, winning the return leg 2-1 in Cairo after the first leg in Aba ended goalless. The victory launched a golden era for the Nigerian club, which successfully defended the title in 2004.
Ismaily themselves hold an important place in African football history. The Egyptian side became the first club from Egypt to win Africa’s top club competition in 1969, when the tournament was known as the African Cup of Champions Clubs.
The club last won the Egyptian league title in the 2001-02 season and also boasts two Egypt Cup trophies.
However, financial difficulties in recent years have badly affected the once-famous club. Reports indicate that Ismaily even published their bank account details publicly at one stage in a bid to encourage supporters to contribute funds toward the club’s survival.
Meanwhile, Wadi Degla’s victory lifted them to 48 points and the top position in the relegation group, keeping alive their hopes of survival.
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A goal scored under soccer’s experimental “daylight” offside rule was allowed for the first time in a professional match on Saturday, with Pacific FC forward Alejandro Diaz on target in a 2-2 draw with Halifax Wanderers in the Canadian Premier League.
The strike would have been ruled out under the standard International Football Association Board Laws of the Game, but stood under the CPL’s ongoing trial conducted in cooperation with FIFA.
The Canadian league is testing the rule this season as part of efforts to reduce marginal offside decisions and encourage attacking play.
Under the system, an attacker is only deemed offside if there is clear “daylight” between them and the second-last defender, rather than being penalised for narrowly being ahead.
The concept, long advocated by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in his role as FIFA’s head of global football development, is being assessed in Canada as a potential change to the offside law.
Diaz’s goal marked the first in-game application of the interpretation, which resulted directly in a goal, offering a glimpse of how the rule could alter attacking patterns and defensive positioning.
The CPL, which launched the trial earlier this month, has provided FIFA with a professional testing ground for the proposal as soccer’s world governing body evaluates whether to expand its use more broadly.
Reuters
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Al-Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy was handed a four-match ban after striking a referee on the head following a 1-1 draw with Ceramica Cleopatra, the Egyptian Pro League said on Thursday.
The Egypt international, who was on the bench for Tuesday’s game, was incensed after Al-Ahly’s appeal for a penalty following a handball in stoppage time was denied.
“He handed a four‑match ban and fined 50,000 Egyptian pounds ($942) for assaulting the referee by pushing or pulling (use of the hand without violence),” the league said in a statement.
The ban means El-Shenawy, who is expected to be Egypt’s starting goalkeeper at the World Cup in North America, will be sidelined until the final week of the league play-offs.
Al-Ahly are third on 41 points, five points behind leaders Zamalek.
-Reuters
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