The Qatar World Cup in 2022 marked a watershed moment for both African and Arab football. Morocco were the big story and with the support of both these regions, became their first ever representatives to reach the Semi-Finals. Here their fairytale run came to an abrupt holt with defeat against Kylian Mbappé’s mighty French side. Their journey was one of the tournaments highlights as they became everybody’s second team knocking out giants Belgium, Spain and Portugal during their record setting run.
It was around this time I’d started noticing more people travelling there and seeing videos of the phenomenal ultras in the country. Morocco had well adn truly shot up my list of places to watch football.
For the last 7 years I’d dedicated one Sunday a year to watching The Superbowl with my good friends ‘The Meadows Bro’s’ in their hometown of Warrington, but this year we fancied spicing it up a little bit. During the Euros in Germany, we’d shared a beer or two with Moroccan Mo who ensured us the two would fit together nicely. So, the plan was hatched. Superbowl in Morocco!! Not the most typical combination but hey ho, let’s see how it pans out.
Decision was made, now just to decide between Marrakech and Casablanca. In the end the Ryanair return flights for less than £100 made Marrakech the easy winner and flights were booked.
Waiting for fixtures
Most countries announce fixtures months in advance with slight movements of times, but The Royal Moroccan Football Federation kept us waiting until just 10 days before that weekend to release the fixtures. A huge part of the fun of trip planning is that initial look on google maps to see what games are achievable and the highs and lows of the results.
We landed on what felt like the perfect solution. Wydad Casablanca, the 5th best team in Africa were playing at home on the Sunday. So, a mooch down the A3 Expressway, bit of Moroccan football, then find a nice bar to watch the Superbowl into the early hours, perfect, what could possibly go wrong.
Big Woz treated us to an Airport Lounge Pass, so we took on the usual task of trying to eat and drink enough to make it worth the cost, I’m pretty sure we never quite achieve it. A little nap on the 3-and-a-half-hour flight and I was soon enough landing in country number 67 to a beautiful Moroccan sunset. A cheap and efficient taxi into town and we were all set.
Morocco is traditionally a dry country and you have to make a bit of effort to find a beer at times, but luckily I was prepared to put in the groundwork and we’d booked the 3 Star Hotel Akabar due to it’s Pool and TV lined Bar, a bargain price at £55 a night for a Twin room.
Settling in
Before we knew it, we were propping up the bar watching Harry Maguire knock his old team Leicester out of the FA Cup while getting to know a couple of regulars. The local tipple of Speciale, served in 250ml bottles were going down a treat, even if the bars’ Tapas wasn’t quite up to scratch.
Post match we jumped in a Taxi to check out Medina, the Old Town. Due to our late arrival most things were shutting up but the main market square of Jemaa el-Fnaa still had a vibrant feel to it. Traditional music played in small groups and a large food market still doing a roaring trade. A glass of tea washed down the kebab mix and that was it for day one, wisely avoiding any further beers ahead of the mornings early start.
Only a few weeks earlier after ticking off various bucket list items in Africa, I mentioned to my pal Casey that a Hot Air Balloon ride was an item I was looking to complete. Conveniently, Dave had stumbled across the option of a Balloon ride here in Marrakech, for just over £100 each it’d be rude not to.
Early start
Pick up at 6 and we were on our way, an hour drive towards the desert before a nice brew washed down with tasty fresh pastries. While waiting for the balloons to be set up, we gathered round the fires to stave off the fresh morning cold.
As the twilight appeared the workers began to inflate the balloons, a pretty cool process to observe in itself even before getting inside it. Wisely the basket is separated into 4 equal sections to avoid too much moving around in the air. Our Russian Pilot introduced herself and after the briefest of safety briefings the ropes were released. We drifted off into the air cosily tucked in to our section with 3 of the biggest fellas I know, not a huge amount of room for manoeuvre.
Despite being one of 20 or so balloons in the sky, there was a calming tranquillity up there, floating around in pure silence until the deafening interruption of the Burner releasing a jet of Propane flame into the envelope, a really cool feeling and the pilot kindly let me have a go, a bit like the childish joy of tooting a horn on an American Truck, highly satisfying.
As the sun finally came into sight we relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful views in the most peaceful of environments, able to see for miles with the Atlas Mountain on the horizon. It was agreed by all on landing that it was an incredible experience, one I’d highly recommend. A perfect start to the day but the fun wasn’t over yet.
Camel Time
After a selection of the worlds driest bread for brunch we headed off for the camel ride. We chucked on the local attire and boarded four camels, only once aboard we noticed that they were all tied together loosely with rope and we mooched around for around 10 minutes. Probably one to avoid for animal welfare fans and not something I’d recommend.
One of our recently made friends from the night before had invited us to check out his Carpet Shop. Our new Moroccan Momo took us to the rooftop where we shared in some tea, fresh meat and other local delicacies. Some of their 35,000 carpets were still unsold on the bottom of the pile after 35 years, it was a real treat to see people at work in such an old tradition.
This was one lovely example of the hospitality and generosity we felt from the Moroccans, no sales pitch, just an opportunity to share their culture.
Given it was February we were glad to be sampling some warmer climes, we trundled off across the city into the Guéliz area of the city, better known for its clubs and nightlife so we headed to a rooftop bar to check out the sunset. A beautiful way to round off the afternoon.
Party time
Due to the early start, a quick nap was needed before the Madrid derby back at the hotel bar where we formulated a plan for the evening’s entertainment. Finally opting for what we thought was one of the cheaper clubs in town and literally just around the corner. What’s not to love? Well, the bloody price of drinks was what not to love.
A bottle of Vodka between us was included in the £35 entry fee but that was never going to last long. The waiter service was very attentive, and I spent a good 10 minutes explaining the immorality of charging £200 for the next bottle and that I’d never even paid that for a night out in my whole life.
I reiterated that this wasn’t going to change tonight… I’m not sure what went wrong but fast forward 5 hours and we stumbled out rather worse for wear back to our hotel after a thoroughly entertaining but expensive evening.
Our saviour
During our balloon ride we’d got chatting to Zak, a lad from Casablanca on his holidays.
“What are you guys doing tomorrow?”
“Heading to Casablanca”
“Me too, do you want a lift?”
I love it when the stars align! Very, very worse for wear we were picked up by Zak around midday with far from sufficient sleep. Being the smallest of the four I was stuck in the middle, memories of family holidays as the youngest child driving around Ireland came flooding back. Only difference was my wingmen were about 5 times larger now.
The 3-hour drive went by pretty seamlessly, less so was driving around the city in search of a place for Dave to buy a ‘genuine’ football shirt. Obviously, Zak wouldn’t accept any money as is custom in this part of the world, but we insisted on expressing our gratitude and he let us buy him a footy shirt of his team Raja Casablanca.
With time running short we had a quick turnaround at our Airbnb before once again, our selfless new buddy dropped us off as close to the stadium as we could, what an absolute gentleman. An abiding memory of our time here.
Football reputation
Historically Morocco hasn’t been widely known for its passionate football history but the more you delve, the more it becomes clear how much it means to the country. While many of the older fans amongst us will remember Mustapha Hadji and Youssef Chippo delighting the Highfield Road faithful in the late 90’s, there have not been many global stories until their exploits in Qatar.
I was surprised to learn that Morocco finished Runners Up in bids for both the 94 and 98 World Cups hosted by USA and France respectively. Similar fate followed in 2006 before they then again fell painfully short in 2010, with accusations of bribery directing the first World Cup on the continent to South Africa.
A final failure in 2026 should be enough to put anyone off trying but they kept going, and after being the only team to miss out in 5 World Cup bids (Egypt, Belgium and South Korea – 4 times), they were finally chosen to co-host the 2030 edition alongside the Iberian giants of Spain and Portugal.
They will have a trial run ahead of that with the 2025 African Nations Cup being held here, believe it or not only their second time hosting the competition they have won three times.
Worlds Biggest Football Stadium
The World Cup as always will be something special and after so long waiting, Morocco will be looking to make it one to remember. Initially mooted for the 2010 World Cup, finally the plan of building the World’s largest Football stadium will come to fruition. The Hassan II Stadium, named after the King who reigned here for 38 years until his death in 1999.
The 115,000 all seater stadium is due to be delivered in 2027 and will put it second in capacity behind only The Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad, India. It will host the National team as well as the countries two biggest teams. It will have the bold task of competing to see which venue holds the World Cup Final, the most prestigious of all sporting events, just a tiny little bit of competition from the newly renovated Santiago Bernabeu and Camp Nou, no small undertaking.
As for the hosts current Stadium, this is presently under renovation for the upcoming AFCON and World Cup, the Mohamed V Stadium renovations should be complete imminently but for now it’s the 19,000 capacity Larbi Zaouli Stadium. A step down from the impending large-scale projects but not to worry.
Ahead of the evenings game, Wydad sat 4th in the league, 10 places above their struggling visitors HUSA who had travelled 500km from Agadir. A home win was very much the expected order of the day.
History of Wydad
Wydad, meaning ‘love’ in Arabic have been around since 1937, originally set up by a group of intellectuals and young resistant’s during the French occupation of Morocco. Initially just for Water Polo with the purpose of giving native Moroccans the opportunity to swim as this had been outlawed by the French colonialist authorities. Football became part of the clubs’ disciplines in 1939 and 3 years later they were in the country’s top flight and have been there ever since.
They didn’t have too long to wait for their first title in 1948 and proceeded to win 4 in a row. They’ve won titles in every decade since including the first after independence in 1957 making 22 in total. 9 ahead of ASFAR and their big city rival Raja.
However, first time winners RS Berkane look set to retain their title so Wydad will continue without a title since 2022, one that coincided with their 3rd African Champions League. The double on the pitch also led to admiration off it. The fan group ‘Ultra Winners 05’ were voted the best Ultra’s in the world for the 4th time, a nod to the intense love and connection that had helped their team to glory with shows of passion via Tifo’s and phenomenal unwavering support.
Those 3 continental titles are the same as that of their arch-rivals Raja, with only 4 African teams with better records. Together they have the majority of Morocco’s 7 titles, second in the continent but way behind Egypt’s 18.
Kings of Moroccan Football
Casablanca really is the home of football in Morocco, 40 league titles, more than double that of Rabat with 17, and it’s no wonder we took the journey out of Marrakech given they have just two titles. Their big footballing claim to fame being the birthplace of the legendary Just Fontaine who will forever hold the record for most goals in one world cup having scored 13 for the ruling French at Sweden 58.
The bitter rivalry between the cities Big 2 really kicked off in 1966. The ‘Derby de Casablanca’ controversially had to be replayed due to a pitch invasion. Raja – meaning ‘hope’ in Arabic – had been winning 2–1, but when it was replayed, it ended in a 0–0 draw, and thus Wydad won the championship by one point over Raja.
Strangely that 0-0 was one of 6 in a row the two teams shared between 1965-68, surely a record. A sign of low scoring championships back in those days.
Ticket collection earlier in the day had been a right pain, thankfully Zak had checked our mobile ‘tickets’, but they were merely a receipt to collect the tickets from a shop nowhere near the ground, a horrible system and without Zak we’d have been screwed, one to watch out for. We were told there was no requirement for ID at the stadium but this wasn’t the case, thankfully mobile pictures of passports were sufficient and we were in. Football in country number 29 for me.
Something different
From the very first moment there was an element of novelty, at the end of the row of urinals was a prison style window that looked right out into the stadium, just so you don’t miss a thing while popping for a midgame pee. Peeking through also gave us a little taster of the intense atmosphere and built the excitement.
We found our seats in the busy main stand, well positioned opposite the main band of Ultras who were fully in place God knows how long before kick-off. It was a free for all to find a seat so well worth getting in early if in any kind of sizeable group. We took our spot and sat and observed the co-ordinated singing and took in just what a phenomenal atmosphere it was, not too bad at all for £12.
As soon as the game started, I was impressed with the quality and it was clear the home side were the better one, understandable given the sheer volume of the whistling when the visitors had possession. The fans certainly played their part in creating an intimidating place to play. If that wasn’t enough, the constant lasers in the faces couldn’t have helped the opposition settle either.
No sign of Tiki-Taka here as both teams played with intent once they picked up the ball. A couple of gilt-edged chances went astray for Wydad before Jamal Harkass turned in a perfect cross to put the home side ahead.
Comfortable game
This kept the crowd animated which was ideal for us as they were as good a spectacle as what was being produced on the pitch. Ismail Moutaraji doubled the lead early in the second half and despite the wonderful Moroccan football culture on show, the stadium DJ still turned to the iconic ‘Freed from desire’ to celebrate. There was no way back from here for the visitors, their 0.04 expected goals summed up a difficult season where they are well and truly in a relegation dogfight.
The away support expressed their dismay by throwing a deluge of flares onto the pitch. Finally, a benefit to having an athletics track in a football stadium as they never threatened player safety but certainly had the Riot Police standing to attention. We were later informed it was a protest related to the poor running of the club.
Wydad played out to the final whistle with comfort and ease, never looking like there would be any late barrage for them to fight off. 2-0 the final score and the chase for Champions League football continues.
All in all, a really bloody enjoyable game, I have to say, as a whole one of my favourite games I’ve ever been to. Not always the worst thing but a few beers in the seat would have topped up the excitement but unsurprisingly none was available making the relentless energy of the fans even more impressive.
Incredible fans
And what to say about those fans?? It was easy to see why they are considered by many as the best in the world. I’d personally never seen anything as intense for such a sustained period of time, a constant drum beat and singing. Sitting there watching, you wonder how anyone cannot love the spectacle of this sport.
At one point we even watched as one dedicated fan scaled the exterior of the stadium and clambered his way into the main stand, a genuinely death-defying mission, all to be in with the heart of the Ultras, fair play to the lad, especially when you see the drop on the other side. On the final whistle there appeared to be a fair amount of scrapping amongst the home fans, apparently just par for the course but it soon settled and everyone went on their merry way. Not for the feint hearted.
Following the match our attention turned back towards our original reason for getting away….The Superbowl. Over the previous few days, we’d not received any specific recommendations but were assured there would be plenty of options. Maybe there was, maybe there wasn’t, but one thing’s for sure, we certainly couldn’t find them and with it being Sunday night in a predominantly Muslim country, we accepted defeat.
Believing we had a Chromecast back at our apartment we decided on a couple of beers in a local pub before heading home to watch. With Moroccan shops not allowed to sell beer after 8PM, we ended up buying some takeouts from the pub.
Change of plan
We talked Woz out of a bottle of Vodka, partly due to flashbacks of last night and partly all the pain of all the necessary extras. His counteroffer was to get 15 small beers each (250ml) quoting some great philosopher with the words ‘Better to look at it, than look for it’. Hard to argue so against our better judgement we went with it and headed home with 15 litres of beer in tow. The deal was done over ‘Google Translate’ and the discount I managed to negotiate for bulk buying was errr, zero %, nice work Mart. Tough round.
Once home we discovered a lack of Chromecast, my initial plan was out the window. The next hour would have been painful to watch as 4 newly middle aged, slightly inebriated men racked their brains for a technological solution, slow was probably the politest word to describe the situation.
But eventually we were sorted and Youtube was the saviour! We settled in to watch the biggest annual event in Sport. The beers were flowing but a couple of strange events at the end of the first quarter led Lee to remark ‘Imagine if it wasn’t this year’s game?’
I was in control of the TV and knew instantly I hadn’t considered this option, I just saw the team names and clicked play, completely forgetting these two teams played out the Superbowl two years earlier.
“Ohhhhh sh*t”
After a few minutes of a mix between ‘heads in hands’ and chuckling at the sheer comic failure of the whole situation we went in desperate search of the real stream.
Only at half time did we get it back on, by this point the game was pretty much up for the Chiefs and the Eagles were about to add a second Superbowl to their success a few years earlier. Go Birds.
Needless to say, the debacle took the wind out of our sails and very few beers were consumed so on the trip home the next morning, every spare space in our bags had a mini bottle of Speciale squeezed in.
For a bargain £140, we hired a driver to take us back to Marrakech, door to door, perfect. He was also more than happy to swing by Hassan II Mosque en route. The 7th largest on the planet with the tallest Minaret in the world at 210m. Built in 1993, it is a fine example of exquisite Moroccan craftsmanship, it holds 25,000 inside and a further 80,000 outside and would be an incredible site at one of the major Muslim celebrations.
From one beautiful venue to another, next stop McDonald’s. We’d been as cultural as we could for our stay so far but sometimes after days of drinking there is only one solution and the ‘Big M’ drew us in.
A little more education
The others slept in the back and the driver spoke only Arabic, so I relaxed and enjoyed the views of the countryside. One interesting thing I wasn’t aware of before was the unique looking language on all the road signs, symbols that I’d never seen before on any of my travels.
I’d learnt from Momo in the previous days that Arabic was not the original language in Morocco, it was Tamazight. Arabs had travelled here hundreds of years ago but the natives are known as Berber.
The Berber people exist in many parts of Africa with their biggest representations in Morocco and Tunisia respectively, an indication of why such a brotherhood exists between these two countries. It’s great to see on the signs and hear that the Moroccan Government is looking after their history and Tamazight is being taught and promoted.
A quick nap on arrival was required before returning to the rooftop bar for sunset. Dinner and beers at the wonderfully named O’Mulligans brought the trip to an end for my ‘football friends’ and they headed home the next morning.
Keen to make the most of my time here I’d extended my stay for a couple more days. With the intention of seeing some more of the culture I booked a few nights in a hostel in the heart of Medina. This history in this part of town goes back almost 1,000 years and the best efforts are made to retain the traditional culture of the country.
Awkward moment
One of those traditions being the lack of alcohol, even storage was banned in my new abode, never mind consumption. So, I did feel a panging guilt when I clinked my way in with 9 litres of beer tucked amongst every spare space in my bags. Any other country and this would have been a bloody bonus but here in a Muslim country it was quite the opposite.
I headed out around the Medina checking out the Souks selling a variety of souvenirs. A unique and vibrant place, only blighted by the fact every single shopkeeper thought the public would love to hear the contents of the video they were watching on full volume. Headphones haven’t quite made it to this part of the world it seems.
After dodging bikes and tourists the open space of Jemaa el-Fnaa was a welcome relief. I popped up to a rooftop terrace for an awful mint tea to observe a different kind of assault on the ears. At first, I couldn’t even see why there was such noise until I spotted snakes ‘dancing’ to the sound of the Pungi. This Bagpipey sound was coming from the many snake charmers and reverberating across the square.
In fact, the animals can’t actually hear the music, one small blessing for them in this cruel activity. They are acting defensively to the movement of the charmer and the Pungi. It’s a tradition 1,000’s of years old but even India banned this over 50 years ago. The fangs are often removed and mouths sewn shut to avoid any harm coming to the charmers, all in all, absolutely nothing good comes from this practice.
Further cruelty
Alongside these guys were Monkeys on chains that could jump on your shoulder for a picture. In the surrounding markets you could also find a variety of animals for sale cooped up in cages. The square had a real buzz to it, and it was a perfect spot for people watching but certainly another place to avoid for the animal rights activists.
Through the Couchsurfing app I met up with Ismael that evening to watch Man City’s inevitable loss to Real Madrid. After the game he kindly offered to drop me back in Medina and gave me a little tour on the way. He emphasized what I was already getting a feeling for and that was the passion Moroccan’s had for ‘The Beautiful Game’.
He reiterated how the team were in a great moment as shown in Qatar and that nothing less than victory would be accepted in this year’s African Nations Cup. The pressure was real. This can often be too much for any team but one thing I’m certain of is that the build-up and tournament will be incredible to experience.
My lucky day
As I tucked into my gloriously refreshing Moroccan salad, I decided to jump on an excursion to Agapay which had been recommended several times over the preceding days. After a night of little sleep in my hostel due to the snoring vibrations of the fella in the bunk below, the idea of a private camp in the desert was music to my ears.
I jumped on the hour-long bus and made an instant new friend. Much as I love travelling alone, I equally love new pals. And when the only guy not in a couple was a Bayern Munich fan born 2 months after me, I’d hit the jackpot. The next hours were passed regaling football stories from the 90’s and 2000’s
I’d done no research on Agapay but was very pleasantly rewarded. Stunning views over the dunes with the awesome backdrop of the Atlas Mountains. The luxury accommodation was just what the doctor ordered after last nights snorathon. I joined up again with my new ‘freund’ for the three course Moroccan meal complemented by traditional singing and dancing, a really beautiful evening that I’d highly recommend to anyone heading to this part of the world.
Finally, as I listened to Seb’s first-hand story of the heartbreak of the 1999 Champions League Final, we had the opportunity to try and get through some of my beers. Chilling on the veranda, we did what we could and got through about half, not a bad effort. One of the most enjoyable evenings I can remember for a long time finished off with a chill down the pool observing the gorgeous stars before returning to my luxurious tent.
Another relaxing day followed by a last jaunt to O’Mulligans where we were treated to a performance from a group of women blasting out a rather unique traditional style of music, quite the cultural mix in there, thoroughly entertaining.
A cracking country
And that was that, once again a beautiful experience in a new country, one with immense national pride living in a good moment. Tourism on the increase and excitement in their football circles ahead of this years AFCON and the 2030 World Cup. In my 5 days there I counted about 3 clouds in total, a perfect February getaway to break up the long, cold, dark European nights, somewhere I’d highly recommend for a visit and I can’t wait to come back and try out some of the other cities out here.
But, what about as a Footy Trip, as always, I’ll rate Wydad Casablanca as a Footy Trip out of 100 across 10 different categories and let you know if it’s worth a visit.
Team Ability – After 9 seasons in the Top 2 of Africa’s 3rd best league, they have lagged behind a little the last 2 years but still fighting for Champions League places – 6/10
Atmosphere – One of the best I have witnessed, the home fans were in place well before kick-off and didn’t stop making a noise throughout, returning for a significant game in their newly renovated packed-out stadium should be an item on any Groundhopper’s bucket list – 9/10
Stadium Quality – Sadly not their traditional home but still a nice cool stadium, athletics track unfortunately but their Mohamed V renovation should be done about now. Excited to come back when the biggest football stadium in the world is finished – 7/10
Beer/Food at stadium – Obviously no beer but Coffee and a few snacks available, including the world’s most frustrating, messiest and least satisfying, the dreaded Pipas or sunflower seeds that randomly seem so popular at Footy matches in certain countries – 5/10
Tourism – Sadly we didn’t get to spend much time in Casablanca, also driven by there not being a huge amount we wanted to see. Hassan II mosque is an incredible sight to behold but I feel there are many better options for tourism in Morocco, Marrakech and its surroundings being the perfect example – 4/10
Accessibility – Super cheap and great value accommodation but access from the UK is very expensive. Ryanair flight to Marrakech and a day trip seemed like a good option in the end. Once there, just stay away from the clubs and £200 Bottles of Vodka and you’ll do alright – 5/10
People – Even in a short space of time we met several genuinely kind and interesting people, more than happy to give up their time to be hospitable with nothing expected in return. I do appreciate that travel in this part of the world is easier and more relaxed for men but can only go off my experiences – 8.5/10
Stadium Surroundings – Not a great deal sadly, a taxi required. No pubs around and not a huge number of things going on. Get in early and witness the fans in full voice would be my advice – 3/10
History – Origins going back to colonial times, never relegated, 3-time continental champions. A club full of history and known throughout Africa, less so on a global scale though. A massive opportunity to change that when they take on Man City and Juventus in the World Club Cup this Summer – 7.5/10
Ease/Cost of ticket purchase – Ticket purchase was straight forward enough but you need to collect the tickets miles from the stadium in the days before. Barring our saviour Zak, we’d have been stood outside the ground looking like a bunch of lemons. Good value for the £12 or so we paid though – 7/10
Total – 62/100
Sounds a harsh score given the quality of the ultras but the best of the tourism and the best of the football are in different cities 3.5 hours apart but if you have time, well worth combining the two to make a cracking Footy Trip.
Accomplishments
For me in terms of personal accomplishments on this trip. It’s the 67th country I’ve visited and the 29th country in which I’ve watched footy, 4th in Africa.
An absolute pleasure as always to travel around the world enjoying the delights on offer, thanks again for joining me and until the next Footy Trip, take it easy