# 2015–16 Botola

The 2015–16 Botola, also known as Botola Maroc Telecom for sponsorship reasons, is the 59th season of the Premier League, the top Moroccan professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1915. The fixtures were announced on 22 July 2015. The season started on 5 September 2015 and is scheduled to conclude on 15 April 2016.
Wydad came into the season as defending champions of the 2014–15 season. IR Tanger and MC Oujda entered as the two promoted teams from the 2014–15 GNF 2.
On June 5, 2016, FUS Rabat won the football championship after a 4–2 victory against Mouloudia D'Oujda. The FUS Rabat club won the championship for the first time after being runner-up to the title for 5 previous times.

## Teams

A total of 16 teams compete in the league, including 14 sides from the 2014–15 season and two promoted from the 2014–15 GNF 2. On 12 April 2015, Tanger became the first Championship side to be promoted following their 0–0 draw over Youssoufia Berrechid in week 27. On 4 May 2015 (in week 30), MC Oujda got promoted to the top flight after defeating US Temara 1–0 in their home match.
The two promoted clubs replaced Chabab Atlas Khenifra and Ittihad Khemisset.

### Stadium and locations

| Team | Acronym | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | CRA | Al Hoceima | Stade Mimoun Al Arsi | 12,000 |
| Difaâ El Jadidi | DHJ | El Jadida | Stade El Abdi | 15,000 |
| AS FAR Club | AS FAR | Rabat | Stade Moulay Abdellah | 65,000 |
| Fath Union Sport | FUS | Rabat | Stade de FUS | 15,000 |
| Hassania Agadir | HUSA | Agadir | Stade Adrar | 45,480 |
| IR Tanger | IRT | Tanger | Grand Stade de Tanger | 45,000 |
| KAC Kénitra | KAC | Kenitra | Stade Municipal (Kenitra) | 15,000 |
| Kawkab Marrakech | KACM | Marrakech | Stade de Marrakech | 45,240 |
| MAS Fez | MAS | Fes | Fez Stadium | 45,000 |
| Moghreb Tétouan | MAT | Tétouan | Saniat Rmel | 15,000 |
| MC Oujda | MCO | Oujda | Honneur Stadium | 30,000 |
| Olympic Safi | OCS | Safi | Stade El Massira | 10,000 |
| Olympique Khouribga | OCK | Khouribga | Complexe OCP | 10,000 |
| Raja Casablanca | RCA | Casablanca | Stade Mohamed V | 67,000 |
| RSB Berkane | RSB | Berkane | Stade Municipal | 15,000 |
| Wydad Casablanca | WAC | Casablanca | Stade Mohamed V | 67,000 |

### Personnel and kits

| Teams | Managers$^1$ | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | Fouad Sahabi | | Al Omrane, Koutoubia |
| Difaâ El Jadidi | Abderrahim Taleb | Uhlsport | OCP, Alitkan |
| AS FAR Club | Abdelmalek El Aziz | Joma | |
| FUS Rabat | Walid Regragui | Nike | |
| Hassania Agadir | Abdelhadi Sektioui | Umbro | Ifriquiya |
| IR Tanger | Abdelhak Benchikha | Bang Sports | Moroccan Airports Authority |
| KAC Kénitra | Samir Yaich | Sarsons Sports | Koutoubia |
| Kawkab Marrakesh | Hassan Benabicha | Adidas | Koutoubia |
| MAS Fez | Mohammed El Achhabi | M Sport | Ingelec |
| MC Oujda | Azzedine Aït Djoudi | Joma | |
| Moghreb Tétouan | Sergio Lobera | King Sports Maroc | Abroun |
| OC Khouribga | Youssef El Mrini | Nike | |
| Olympic Safi | Hicham Dmii | | |
| Raja Casablanca | Rachid Taoussi | Adidas | Hyundai |
| RSB Berkane | Bertrand Marchand | Nike | |
| Wydad Casablanca | John Toshack | Adidas | Ingelec |
* $^1$ According to current revision of List of Moroccan Football League managers
* Additionally, referee kits are made by Adidas.
* Maroc Telecom is a sponsor for all the league's teams.

### Managerial changes

| Teams | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Olympic Safi | Youssef Fertout | Sacked | 29 May 2015 | Aziz El Amri | 29 May 2015 |
| IR Tanger | Mohamed Amine Benhachem | Sacked | 2 June 2015 | Abdelhak Benchikha | 2 June 2015 |
| CR Al Hoceima | Aziz El Amri | Sacked | 5 June 2015 | Kamal Zouaghi | 5 June 2015 |
| Maghreb Fès | Rachid Taoussi | Sacked | 5 November 2015 | Denis Lavagne | 14 November 2015 |
| Raja Casablanca | Ruud Krol | Sacked | 5 November 2015 | Rachid Taoussi | 5 November 2015 |
| CR Al Hoceima | Kamal Zouaghi | Sacked | 28 December 2015 | Fouad Sahabi | 30 December 2015 |
| Kawkab Marrakesh | Hicham Dmii | Sacked | 8 January 2016 | Hassan Benabicha | 9 January 2016 |
| Difaâ El Jadidi | Jamal Sellami | Sacked | 15 February 2016 | Abderrahim Taleb | 22 February 2016 |
| OC Khouribga | Ahmad Al-Ajlani | Resigned | 9 March 2016 | Karim Zouaghi | 9 March 2016 |
| Maghreb Fès | Denis Lavagne | Sacked | 28 March 2016 | Mohammed El Achhabi | 28 March 2016 |
| AS FAR Club | José Romão | Resigned | 1 April 2016 | Abdelmalek El Aziz | 3 April 2016 |
| Olympic Safi | Aziz El Amri | Sacked | 3 April 2016 | Hicham Dmii | 6 April 2016 |
| OC Khouribga | Karim Zouaghi | Sacked | 19 April 2016 | Youssef El Mrini | 21 April 2016 |

## Results
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | FUS Rabat (C) | 30 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 40 | 21 | +19 | 58 | CAF Champions League and the Arab Club Championship |
| 2 | Wydad Casablanca | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 34 | 19 | +15 | 56 | Qualification to the CAF Champions League |
| 3 | IR Tanger | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 36 | 23 | +13 | 50 | Qualification to the CAF Confederation Cup |
| 4 | FAR Rabat | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 40 | 35 | +5 | 47 | |
| 5 | Raja Casablanca | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 48 | 30 | +18 | 47 | |
| 6 | Moghreb Tétouan | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 34 | 43 | −9 | 43 | |
| 7 | RSB Berkane | 30 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 24 | 19 | +5 | 43 | |
| 8 | Hassania Agadir | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 44 | 46 | −2 | 41 | |
| 9 | Olympic Safi | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 23 | 27 | −4 | 37 | |
| 10 | Chabab Rif Hoceima | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 27 | 34 | −7 | 36 | |
| 11 | KAC Kénitra | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 26 | 37 | −11 | 35 | |
| 12 | Olympique Khouribga | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 26 | 35 | −9 | 34 | |
| 13 | Difaâ El Jadidi | 30 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 26 | 30 | −4 | 34 | |
| 14 | Kawkab Marrakech | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 30 | |
| 15 | MC Oujda (R) | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 26 | 41 | −15 | 29 | Relegation to Botola 2 |
| 16 | Maghreb Fès (R) | 30 | 5 | 14 | 11 | 24 | 31 | −7 | 29 | Confederation Cup and relegation to Botola 2 |
* ↑ Despite relegation, MAS Fès qualified for the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup as Coupe du Trône winners

## Result table

| Home \ Away | FUS | WAC | IRT | FAR | RCA | MAT | RSB | HUSA | OCS | CRA | KAC | OCK | DHJ | KACM | MCO | MAS |
| FUS Rabat | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 |
| Wydad | 0–1 | | 2–2 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| IR Tanger | 0–1 | 3–0 | | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| FAR Rabat | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | | 1–0 | 5–2 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Raja | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–4 | | 2–3 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 |
| Moghreb Tétouan | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–5 | | 1–0 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| RSB Berkane | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Hassania Agadir | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–5 |
| OC Safi | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–4 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| CR Hoceima | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| KAC Kénitra | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| OC Khouribga | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Difaâ El Jadidi | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 |
| Kawkab Marrakech | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| MC Oujda | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 0–0 |
| Maghreb Fès | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of 4 June 2016.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Mehdi Naghmi | FAR Rabat | 12 |
| 2 | Mourad Batna | FUS Rabat | 11 |
| 2 | Abdelilah Hafidi | Raja Casablanca | 11 |
| 4 | Reda Hajhouj | Wydad Casablanca | 9 |
| 4 | Achraf Bencharki | Maghreb Fès | 9 |
| 6 | Zakaria Hadraf | Difaâ El Jadidi | 8 |
| 7 | Hervé Guy | IR Tanger | 7 |
| 7 | Abdessamad El Mobarky | Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | 7 |
| 7 | Badie Aouk | Hassania Agadir | 7 |
| 7 | Yassin Dahbi | MC Oujda | 7 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Noureddine El Gourch | Hassania Agadir | Moghreb Tétouan | 2–4 (A) | 22 September 2015 |
| Abdelilah Hafidi | Raja Casablanca | Hassania Agadir | 5–1 (H) | 29 May 2016 |
| Achraf Bencharki | Maghreb Fès | Hassania Agadir | 2–5 (A) | 4 June 2016 |
$^4$ Player scored four goals $^5$ Player scored five goals (H) - Home; (A) - Away

## Annual awards

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation, in coordination with the LNFP ( Ligue Nationale du Football Professionnel) and the UMFP (Union Marocaine des Footballeurs Professionnels), organized the 2nd edition of the "Stars' Night" in honor of the players and coacheswho were distinguished during the 2015/2016 season.
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Manager of the Season | Walid Regragui | Fath US |
| Player of the Season | Mourad Batna | Fath US |
| Promising Player of the Season | Reda Hajhouj | Wydad AC |
| Foreign Player of the Season | Michael Babatunde | Raja CA |