# 2017–18 Botola

The 2017–18 Botola, also known as Botola Maroc Telecom for sponsorship reasons, is the 61st season of the Premier League and the 7th under its new format of Moroccan Pro League, the top Moroccan professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1956. The season started on 8 September 2017 and ended on 21 May 2018.
Wydad Athletic Club came into the season as defending champions of the 2016–17 season. Rapide Oued Zem and Racing de Casablanca entered as the two promoted teams from the 2016–17 GNF 2.
On May 12, 2018, IR Tanger won the Botola Pro after a 2-1 victory against Moghreb Tétouan. The IR Tanger club won the championship for the first time after being runner-up to the title in 1989-90 season.

## Teams
### Stadium and locations

| Team | Acronym | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Association sportive des FAR | AS FAR | Rabat | Stade Moulay Abdellah | 52,000 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Racing de Casablanca | RAC | Casablanca | Stade Père-Jégo | 10,000 |
| Raja Casablanca | RCA | Casablanca | Stade Mohamed V | 67,000 |
| Rapide Oued Zem | RCOZ | Oued Zem | Stade Municipal | 3,000 |
| 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 |
| Association sportive des FAR | Abderrazak Khairi | Uhlsport | |
| Chabab Atlas Khénifra | Kamal Zouaghi | Bang Sports | |
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | Nacer Sandjak | Bang Sports | Al Omrane, CGI |
| Difaâ El Jadidi | Abderrahim Talib | Bang Sports | innjoo, Radio Mars, TGCC |
| FUS Rabat | Walid Regragui | Uhlsport | Emaar, Novec, LafargeHolcim |
| Hassania Agadir | Miguel Ángel Gamondi | Uhlsport | Afriquia, Skoda, Souss-Massa, Joly |
| IR Tanger | Driss El Mrabet | Bang Sports | Renault, APM Terminals, Tanger-Med, Moroccan Airports Authority, Valencia, RCI Finance Maroc |
| Kawkab Marrakesh | Faouzi Jamal | Puma | Poste Maroc, Sanad, CitySport, Menara Mall |
| Moghreb Tétouan | Abdelouahed Benhsain | King Sports Maroc | Halib Tetaouen, Radio Mars |
| OC Khouribga | Bernard Simondi | Bang Sports | |
| Olympic Safi | Mohamed Amine Benhachem | Uhlsport | Fitco |
| Racing de Casablanca | Youssef Rossi | | |
| Raja Casablanca | Juan Carlos Garrido | Legea | Siera, Nor'Dar, Prodec, Infinix, Hyundai, Or Blanc, MarsaMaroc, Atlanta Assurances |
| Rapide Oued Zem | Tarek Mostafa | Bang Sports | Boudrika Holding |
| RSB Berkane | Mounir Jaouani | Bang Sports | Souiri, Afriquia |
| Wydad Casablanca | Faouzi Benzarti | Macron | Ingelec, Alitkane, Koutoubia |
    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 |
| Racing de Casablanca | Abdelhak Rizkallah | Retired | 20 May 2017 | Youssef Rossi | 14 Juin 2017 |
| IR Tanger | Bachir Bouita | End of contract | 25 May 2017 | Ezzaki Badou | 20 May 2017 |
| Hassania Agadir | Francisco Javier Bernal | End of contract | 26 May 2017 | Miguel Ángel Gamondi | 4 June 2017 |
| Raja Casablanca | Mohamed Fakhir | Resigned | 26 May 2017 | Abdelhak Benchikha | 7 June 2017 |
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | Youssef Fertout | End of contract | 26 May 2017 | Juan Pedro Benali | 11 July 2017 |
| Moghreb Tétouan | Amin Erbati (interim) | End of tenure as caretaker | 28 May 2017 | Fouad Sahabi | 3 June 2017 |
| Raja Casablanca | Abdelhak Benchikha | Resigned | 16 June 2017 | Juan Carlos Garrido | 20 June 2017 |
| Moghreb Tétouan | Fouad Sahabi | Resigned | 30 August 2017 | Abdelhak Benchikha | 5 September 2017 |
| OC Khouribga | Azzedine Aït Djoudi | Sacked | 3 October 2017 | Bernard Simondi | 14 October 2017 |
| Moghreb Tétouan | Abdelhak Benchikha | Resigned | 19 November 2017 | Youssef Fertout | 19 November 2017 |
| IR Tanger | Ezzaki Badou | Sacked | 21 November 2017 | Driss El Mrabet | 21 November 2017 |
| RSB Berkane | Rachid Taoussi | Sacked | 27 November 2017 | Mounir Aljawani | 27 November 2017 |
| Chabab Atlas Khénifra | Samir Yaich | Contract termination | 3 December 2017 | Kamal Zouaghi | 26 December 2017 |
| AS FAR | Aziz El Amri | Sacked | 11 December 2017 | Abderrazak Khairi | 13 December 2017 |
| Wydad Casablanca | Hussein Amotta | Sacked | 9 January 2018 | Faouzi Benzarti | 19 January 2018 |
| Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | Juan Pedro Benali | Contract termination | 31 January 2018 | Nacer Sandjak | 1 February 2018 |
| Rapide Oued Zem | Mohamed Backary | Sacked | 20 February 2018 | Fouad Sahabi | 21 February 2018 |
| Moghreb Tétouan | Youssef Fertout | Sacked | 27 February 2018 | Abdelouahed Benhsain | 21 February 2018 |
| Rapide Oued Zem | Fouad Sahabi | Refused by the Federation | 20 February 2018 | Tarek Mostafa | 20 March 2018 |
| Kawkab Marrakesh | Youssef Meriana | Sacked | 29 April 2018 | Faouzi Jamal | 29 April 2018 |

## League table
### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | IR Tanger (C) | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 34 | 23 | +11 | 52 | Qualification for the CAF Champions League |
| 2 | Wydad Casablanca | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 51 | Qualification for the CAF Champions League |
| 3 | Hassania Agadir | 30 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 40 | 22 | +18 | 51 | Qualification for the CAF Confederation Cup |
| 4 | FUS Rabat | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 34 | 26 | +8 | 49 | |
| 5 | Difaâ El Jadidi | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 49 | 33 | +16 | 48 | |
| 6 | Raja Casablanca | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 45 | 33 | +12 | 48 | Qualification for the CAF Confederation Cup |
| 7 | Olympic Safi | 30 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 32 | 28 | +4 | 43 | |
| 8 | AS FAR | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 43 | |
| 9 | RSB Berkane | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 36 | 34 | +2 | 41 | Qualification for the CAF Confederation Cup |
| 10 | Rapide Oued Zem | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 27 | 31 | −4 | 37 | |
| 11 | Moghreb Tétouan | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 24 | 35 | −11 | 36 | |
| 12 | Olympique Khouribga | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 37 | 47 | −10 | 35 | |
| 13 | Chabab Rif Al Hoceima | 30 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 27 | 31 | −4 | 33 | |
| 14 | Kawkab Marrakesh | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 29 | 47 | −18 | 32 | |
| 15 | Chabab Atlas Khénifra (R) | 30 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 30 | 41 | −11 | 29 | Relegation to the Botola 2 |
| 16 | Racing de Casablanca (R) | 30 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 22 | 54 | −32 | 17 | Relegation to the Botola 2 |
* 1 2 Wydad Casablanca finished ahead of Hassania Agadir on goals scored: Wydad Casablanca 44, hassania Agadir 40
* 1 2 Difaa Jadidi finished ahead of Raja Casablanca on head-to-head goal difference: Difaa Jadidi 2–1 Raja Casablanca, Raja Casablanca 3–2 Difaa Jadidi
* ↑ Raja CA qualified for the Confederation Cup First round as the title holders, by winning the 2018 CAF Confederation Cup.
* 1 2 Olympic Safi finished ahead of AS FAR on head-to-head points: Olympic Safi 1–1 AS FAR, AS FAR 3–4 Olympic Safi
* ↑ RS Berkane qualified for the Confederation Cup First round by winning the 2018 Moroccan Throne Cup.

### Results

| Home \ Away | IRT | WAC | HUSA | FUS | DHJ | RCA | OCS | FAR | RSB | RCOZ | MAT | OCK | CRA | KACM | CAK | RAC |
| IR Tanger | — | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Wydad AC | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| HUS Agadir | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Fath US | 0–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 |
| DH Jadidi | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Raja CA | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| OC Safi | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| AS FAR | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–4 | — | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| RS Berkane | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | — | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 |
| RC Oued Zem | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| MA Tétouan | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 1–1 |
| OC Khouribga | 1–1 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 |
| CR Al Hoceima | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| KAC Marrakesh | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–5 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| CA Khénifra | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 |
| Racing AC | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — |

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

    As of 20 May 2018.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Mouhssine Iajour | Raja CA | 17 |
| 2 | Mehdi Naghmi | IR Tanger | 13 |
| 3 | Ayoub El Kaabi | RS Berkane | 12 |
| 4 | Simon Msuva | DH Jadidi | 11 |
| 5 | Zouhair El Moutaraji | OC Khouribga | 10 |
| 5 | Jalal Daoudi | HUS Agadir | 10 |
| 7 | Ibrahim Bezghoudi | AS FAR | 9 |
| 7 | Mohamed Nahiri | Wydad AC | 9 |
| 7 | Bilal El Megri | DH Jadidi | 9 |
| 7 | Hamid Ahaddad | DH Jadidi | 9 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Round |
| Hamid Ahaddad | DH Jadidi | OC Khouribga | 4–1 (H) | 3 December 2017 | 10 |
| Mouhssine Iajour | Raja CA | OC Khouribga | 4–3 (H) | 14 February 2018 | 16 |
| Hamza Goudali | OC Safi | AS FAR | 4–3 (A) | 14 April 2018 | 25 |
(H) – Home; (A) – Away

## Annual awards

The UMFP (Union Marocaine des Footballeurs Professionnels), in partnership with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, organized the Night of Stars Award in its 4th edition, which celebrated the brilliants of the Botola Pro for the 2017/18 season.
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Manager of the Season | Driss El Mrabet | IR Tanger |
| Player of the Season | Ahmed Hammoudan | IR Tanger |
| Promising Player of the Season | Mahmoud Benhalib | Raja CA |
| Goalkeeper of the Season | Abderrahman El Houasli | HUS Agadir |
| Referee of the Season | Redouane Achik | Redouane Achik |
| Club of the Season | IR Tanger | IR Tanger |

## Attendances

| # | Football club | Average attendance |
| 1 | IR Tanger | 23,750 |
| 2 | Raja CA | 19,615 |
| 3 | Wydad AC | 15,821 |
| 4 | Hassania Agadir | 11,636 |
| 5 | AS FAR | 10,545 |
| 6 | MA Tétouan | 7,836 |
| 7 | Olympique Safi | 7,714 |
| 8 | RC Oued Zem | 7,692 |
| 9 | KACM | 6,477 |
| 10 | CA Khénifra | 6,342 |
| 11 | Olympique Khouribga | 5,613 |
| 12 | DHJ | 5,064 |
| 13 | Fath Union Sport | 3,250 |
| 14 | CRA | 2,633 |
| 15 | RS Berkane | 2,600 |
| 16 | Racing Casablanca | 2,091 |