# 2016–17 Botola

The 2016–17 Botola, also known as Botola Maroc Telecom for sponsorship reasons, is the 60th season of the Premier League and the 6th under its new format of Moroccan Pro League, the top Moroccan professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1915. The fixtures were announced on 2 August 2016. The season started on 27 August 2016 and may be ended on 28 May 2017.
FUS Rabat came into the season as defending champions of the 2015–16 season. Chabab Atlas Khénifra and Chabab Kasbah Tadla entered as the two promoted teams from the 2015–16 GNF 2.
Wydad Casablanca won the league for a record 19th time in Botola history after beating Olympic Safi on 17 May 2017.

## Teams
### Stadium and locations

| Team | Acronym | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Chabab Atlas Khénifra | CAK | Khénifra | Stade Municipal | 5,000 |
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | CRA | Al Hoceima | Stade Mimoun Al Arsi | 12,000 |
| Difaâ El Jadidi | DHJ | El Jadida | Stade El Abdi | 15,000 |
| Association sportive des FAR | AS FAR | Rabat | Stade Moulay Abdellah | 52,000 |
| 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 |
| JS de Kasbah Tadla | JSKT | Kasba Tadla | Complexe Sportif Municipal | 5,000 |
| KAC Kénitra | KAC | Kenitra | Stade Municipal (Kenitra) | 15,000 |
| Kawkab Marrakech | KACM | Marrakech | Stade de Marrakech | 45,240 |
| Moghreb Tétouan | MAT | Tétouan | Saniat Rmel | 15,000 |
| 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 | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Chabab Atlas Khénifra | Samir Yaich | Bang Sports | |
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | Youssef Fertout | Bang Sports | Al Omrane, CGI |
| Difaâ El Jadidi | Abderrahim Talib | Bang Sports | Alitkane, innjoo, Radio Mars, TGCC |
| Association sportive des FAR | Aziz El Amri | Uhlsport | |
| FUS Rabat | Walid Regragui | Uhlsport | Emaar, Novec, LafargeHolcim |
| Hassania Agadir | Francisco Javier Bernal | Uhlsport | Afriquia, Skoda, Souss-Massa, Joly |
| IR Tanger | Bachir Bouita | Bang Sports | University of New England, APM Terminals |
| JS de Kasbah Tadla | Abderrazak Khairi | Legea | Syron |
| KAC Kénitra | Hassan Ajenoui | | |
| Kawkab Marrakesh | Youssef Meriana | Puma | Poste Maroc, Sanad, CitySport, Menara Mall |
| Moghreb Tétouan | Amin Erbati (interim) | King Sports Maroc | Halib Tetaouen, Radio Mars |
| OC Khouribga | Azzedine Aït Djoudi | Bang Sports | |
| Olympic Safi | Mohamed Amine Benhachem | Uhlsport | Fitco |
| Raja Casablanca | Mohamed Fakhir | Adidas | Siera, Nor'Dar, CitySport, Hyundai, MarsaMaroc, Atlanta Assurances |
| RSB Berkane | Rachid Taoussi | Bang Sports | |
| Wydad Casablanca | Hussein Amotta | Adidas | Ingelec |
    1. ^ On the back of shirt.
    2. ^ On the sleeves.
    3. ^ On the shorts.
* Maroc Telecom is a sponsor for all the league's teams.
* Additionally, referee kits are made by Adidas.

### Managerial changes

| Teams | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| KAC Kénitra | Samir Yaich | Sacked | 3 June 2016 | Jamal Faouzi | 17 July 2016 |
| RSB Berkane | Bertrand Marchand | End of contract | 1 July 2016 | Miloud Hamdi | 14 July 2016 |
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | Fouad Sahabi | End of contract | 22 July 2016 | Dominique Bijotat | 22 July 2016 |
| Raja Casablanca | Rachid Taoussi | Sacked | 7 August 2016 | Mohamed Fakhir | 9 August 2016 |
| RSB Berkane | Miloud Hamdi | Contract termination | 27 August 2016 | Rachid Taoussi | 31 August 2016 |
| Wydad Casablanca | John Toshack | Sacked | 16 September 2016 | Sébastien Desabre | 20 September 2016 |
| KAC Kénitra | Jamal Faouzi | Resigned | 17 September 2016 | Jean-Guy Wallemme | 21 September 2016 |
| Kawkab Marrakesh | Hassan Benabicha | Contract termination | 27 September 2016 | Fouad Sahabi | 28 September 2016 |
| Chabab Atlas Khénifra | Mohamed Bouthir | Sacked | 28 September 2016 | Samir Yaich | 28 September 2016 |
| Association sportive des FAR | Abdelmalek El Aziz | Sacked | 24 October 2016 | Aziz El Amri | 24 October 2016 |
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | Dominique Bijotat | Resigned | 3 November 2016 | Said Zekri (interim) | 15 November 2016 |
| OC Khouribga | Youssef El Mrini | Resigned | 8 November 2016 | Azzedine Aït Djoudi | 14 November 2016 |
| Olympic Safi | Hicham Dmii | Contract termination | 19 November 2016 | Mohamed Amine Benhachem | 25 November 2016 |
| KAC Kénitra | Jean-Guy Wallemme | Sacked | 23 November 2016 | Youssef El Mrini | 23 November 2016 |
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | Said Zekri (interim) | End of tenure as caretaker | 15 December 2016 | Mohamed Lahcen Ahmed | 15 December 2016 |
| Kawkab Marrakesh | Fouad Sahabi | Sacked | 25 December 2016 | Ahmed Bahja | 27 December 2016 |
| Wydad Casablanca | Sébastien Desabre | Sacked | 6 January 2017 | Hussein Amotta | 6 January 2017 |
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | Mohamed Lahcen Ahmed | Sacked | 8 January 2017 | Youssef Fertout | 8 January 2016 |
| KAC Kénitra | Youssef El Mrini | Sacked | 10 February 2017 | Hassan Ajenoui | 19 February 2017 |
| JS de Kasbah Tadla | Hicham Eladrissi | Sacked | 26 February 2017 | Abderrazak Khairi | 7 March 2017 |
| Hassania Agadir | Abdelhadi Sektioui | Resigned | 3 April 2017 | Abdelkbir Meziane (interim) | 5 April 2017 |
| IR Tanger | Abdelhak Benchikha | Contract termination | 16 April 2017 | Mohamed Sabek (interim) | 16 April 2017 |
| Hassania Agadir | Abdelkbir Meziane (interim) | End of tenure as caretaker | 26 April 2017 | Francisco Javier Bernal | 26 April 2017 |
| Kawkab Marrakesh | Ahmed Bahja | Sacked | 29 April 2017 | Youssef Meriana | 1 May 2017 |
| IR Tanger | Mohamed Sabek (interim) | End of tenure as caretaker | 30 April 2017 | Bachir Bouita | 3 May 2017 |
| Moghreb Tétouan | Sergio Lobera | Sacked | 1 May 2017 | Amin Erbati (interim) | 1 May 2017 |

## Results
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Wydad Casablanca (C) | 30 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 50 | 24 | +26 | 66 | Qualification to the CAF Champions League |
| 2 | Difaâ El Jadidi | 30 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 45 | 23 | +22 | 59 | Qualification to the CAF Champions League |
| 3 | Raja Casablanca | 30 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 42 | 17 | +25 | 57 | Qualification to the CAF Confederation Cup |
| 4 | RS Berkane | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 30 | 16 | +14 | 51 | Qualification to the CAF Confederation Cup |
| 5 | IR Tanger | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 33 | 25 | +8 | 45 | |
| 6 | AS FAR | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 44 | |
| 7 | FUS Rabat | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 40 | invited to the Arab Club Champions Cup |
| 8 | Hassania Agadir | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 32 | 40 | −8 | 38 | |
| 9 | Olympic Safi | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 25 | 32 | −7 | 36 | |
| 10 | Chabab Atlas Khénifra | 30 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 25 | 24 | +1 | 34 | |
| 11 | Olympique Khouribga | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 34 | 40 | −6 | 34 | |
| 12 | Moghreb Tétouan | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 34 | |
| 13 | Kawkab Marrakesh | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 36 | 42 | −6 | 33 | |
| 14 | Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 26 | 46 | −20 | 31 | |
| 15 | JS de Kasbah Tadla (R) | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 25 | 47 | −22 | 28 | Relegation to Botola 2 |
| 16 | KAC Kénitra (R) | 30 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 27 | 50 | −23 | 23 | Relegation to Botola 2 |
* ↑ Wydad Casablanca and Raja Casablanca are also invited to the Arab Club Champions Cup.

### Result table

| Home \ Away | WAC | DHJ | RCA | RSB | IRT | FAR | FUS | HUSA | OCS | CAK | OCK | MAT | KACM | CRA | JSKT | KAC |
| Wydad | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Difaâ El Jadidi | 0–0 | | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 6–1 | 0–0 |
| Raja | 0–0 | 4–1 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 |
| RS Berkane | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| IR Tanger | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| AS FAR | 0–5 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| FUS Rabat | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Hassania Agadir | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 |
| OC Safi | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| CA Khénifra | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 |
| OC Khouribga | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | | 4–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 |
| Moghreb Tétouan | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 4–1 |
| Kawkab Marrakech | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| CR Hoceima | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| JS Kasbah Tadla | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | | 0–0 |
| KAC Kénitra | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of 13 June 2017.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | William Jebor | Wydad Casablanca | 19 |
| 2 | Mohammed El Fakih | Kawkab Marrakech | 14 |
| 2 | Jalal Daoudi | Hassania Agadir | 14 |
| 4 | Walid Azaro | Difaâ El Jadidi | 12 |
| 5 | Amin Tighazoui | Olympique Khouribga | 10 |
| 5 | Zaid Krouch | Moghreb Tétouan | 10 |
| 7 | Issam Erraki | Raja Casablanca | 9 |
| 7 | Ngombe Mbengue | Olympique Khouribga | 9 |
| 9 | Karim El Berkaoui | Hassania Agadir | 8 |
| 9 | Mohamed Kamal | AS FAR | 8 |
| 9 | Fabrice Ondama | Wydad Casablanca | 8 |
| 9 | Zakaria Hadraf | Difaâ El Jadidi | 8 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Round |
| Zakaria Hadraf | Difaa El Jadidi | IR Tanger | 4-1 (H) | 4 February 2017 | 16 |
| Mustapha El Yousfi | AS FAR | Olympique Khouribga | 4-2 (H) | 5 March 2017 | 20 |
(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 on Monday 3 July 2017 the 3rd edition of the "Stars' Night" in honor of the players, coaches and referees who were distinguished during the 2016/2017 season.
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Manager of the Season | Hussein Amotta | Wydad AC |
| Player of the Season | Mohamed Ounajem | Wydad AC |
| Promising Player of the Season | Ahmed Hammoudan | IR Tanger |
| Goalkeeper of the Season | Anas Zniti | Raja CA |
| Foreign Player of the Season | Mohamed Konate | RS Berkane |
| Referee of the Season | Redouane Jiyed | Redouane Jiyed |
| Club of the Season | Wydad AC | Wydad AC |