Moroccan club Wydad will be one of four sides representing Africa at the inaugural Mundial de Clubes FIFA 25™.

Qualifying as CAF Champions League 2021/22 winners, Faouzi Benzarti’s side are preparing to compete on the world stage, where they will be aiming to further Moroccan football’s growing reputation to a global audience.

Read on to see how Morocco’s most successful club qualified for the new tournament, the team’s history and learn more about some of their most iconic players.

How they qualified
In 2022, five years after their previous title, Wydad reclaimed their spot at the summit of African football, winning a third CAF Champions League title and securing qualification for the Mundial de Clubes FIFA 25™.

The final took place at the Red Devils’ home stadium, the Stade Mohammed V, against Al Ahly. A brace from Zouhair El Moutaraji secured a 2-0 victory over their long-time rivals and wrestled the title back from the Egyptian giants.

When the two sides met again in the 2022/23 Champions League final, Al Ahly claimed revenge to regain the crown following a 3-2 aggregate win.

Club history
The club was founded in Casablanca on 8 May 1937 by seven people, who were led by Mohamed Benjelloun Touimi. As all of its founders were Moroccan, the club earned the nickname ‘Wydad of the Nation’.In the more than 80 years since the club’s inception, Wydad has enjoyed plenty of success both domestically and internationally. They were the most successful African team in terms of domestic and continental titles in the 20th century, whilst they have won a record 22 league titles in addition to nine Throne Cups and 16 Super Cups.

On the continental stage, they have lifted three CAF Champions League trophies, one CAF Super Cup, one African Cup Winners’ Cup, one Afro-Asian Club Championship title, one Mohammed V Cup, three North African Championship titles, and one North African Cup.

Club icons
Ezzaki Badou

A legendary goalkeeper for both club and country, Badou is one of Morocco’s biggest footballing icons, having made a huge contribution to the nation’s success over the years.

Born in 1959, he went on to play for Wydad from 1978 to 1986, making 344 appearances, before moving to Spanish club Mallorca. During his time in Casablanca, his honours included two Moroccan league titles (1977/78 and 1985/86), three Throne Cups (1978, 1979 and 1981) and one Mohammed V Cup (1979).

The keeper’s international career spanned from 1979 to 1992, during which time he earned 118 caps, most notably including four matches at the FIFA World Cup 1986™ in Mexico.

Noureddine Naybet

Considered one of the best Moroccan defenders of all time, Noureddine Naybet remains an icon of Arab football some 16 years after hanging up his boots. His spell at Wydad lasted just four years, from 1989 to 1993, and only 74 appearances, but that was more than enough for him to make his mark.

He won an impressive three league titles in his four seasons at Wydad, as well as the 1992 CAF Champions League, the 1989 Throne Cup and the 1993 Moroccan Super Cup. He also had a stellar career with the Morocco national team from 1990 to 2006, spreading 114 caps across the 1994 World Cup in USA, the 1998 World Cup in France, the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, and five Africa Cup of Nations.