Wydad Athletic Club is a Moroccan

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 athletics club based in Casablanca

Casablanca

Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...

, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, best known for its football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 team.
Wydad has the largest number of supporters in Morocco.

History

The swimming section was the first section of the Wydad Athletic Club "WAC" to be created and this was on May 8, 1937 . The members of the first management committee

Committee

A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...

 of Wydad were Haj Mohamed Benjelloun (President), Maitre Mohamed Zarouk, Mohamed Ben Lahsan, Haj Mohamed Ben Mohamed Ben Lahsan Benjelloun, Ralph Botbol, Charles Benchetrit, Bienvenu, Lucien Bilikrinieu, Pierre André, Boravel, and Croné Vivirel.

Other sections were created for the club as time went by, like the tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 in 1938 and football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 in 1939, section which Haj Tounsi alias Père Jégo created, to reach today 14 sections including Basketball, Handball, Boxing, Wrestling, Cycling, Badminton, Track and field, Waterpolo, Hockey...

Several versions circulate according to the origin of the naming of the club. In Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

, Wydad means Love

Love

Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...

. Each historian brings his explanation. But that brought back by Ahmed Lahrizi in his book on Wydad volume 1, is the most widespread and the most plausible. According to the book

Book

A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...

, during the frequent meetings which intervened before the creation of the club, one of the founder members arrived late, the reason was that he watched the latest film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 of the actress and Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

ian singer legend Oum Kaltoum, whose title is "Wydad". Thus came the idea to the founders to give the name to the club.

Honours

• Botola
  GNF 1
  The Botola , is the top division of the Moroccan football league system, the highest football league in Morocco.-History:The first edition of the Moroccan Football League under the FRMF was created in 1956/1957 just after the independence of Morocco....
  
  : 17

1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1957, 1966, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2006, 2010

Runner-up : 1958, 1959, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2002

• Other Cups: 1

Coupe Ben Arafa (This Cup was organized by the French colonizer to celebrate a Moroccan Treator to the nation.

• Moroccan Cup
  Moroccan Cup
  The Coupe du Trône, the Moroccan Cup is a football cup competition open to both professional and amateur clubs in Morocco.-Results of finals:-Performance by club:-External links:*...
  
  : 9

1970, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1989, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2001

Runner-up : 1957, 1958, 1961, 1964, 2003, 2004

• CAF Champions League
  CAF Champions League
  The CAF Champions League is an annual international club football competition run by the Confederation of African Football . The top club sides from Africa's football leagues are invited to participate in this competition, which is the premier club football competition on the continent and the...
  
  : 1

1992

Runner-up : 2011

• CAF Cup Winners' Cup: 1

2002

• CAF Super Cup
  CAF Super Cup
  The CAF Super Cup is an annual African association football competition contested between the winners of the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup. The competition was first held in 1993 and is organised by the Confederation of African Football...
  
  

Runner-up : 1992, 2002

• Afro-Asian Club Championship
  Afro-Asian Club Championship
  The Afro-Asian Club Championship, sometimes referred to as the Afro-Asian Cup, was a football competition endorsed by the Confederation of African Football and Asian Football Confederation , contested between the winners of the African Champions' Cup and the Asian Club Championship, the two...
  
  : 1

1994

• Arab Champions League
  Arab Champions League
  The Arab Champions League is a football tournament for clubs in the Arab world. It was inspired by the UEFA Champions League.The Arab Champions League was first known as the Arab Club Champions Cup, and established in 1982. In 2001, it merged with the Arab Cup Winners' Cup to form the new Prince...
  
  : 1

1989

Runner-up : 2008, 2009

• Arab Super Cup
  Arab Super Cup
  The Arab Super Cup was an Arab football competition, held between the reigning champions and runners up of the Arab Club Champions Cup and the Arab Cup Winners' Cup. It started in 1992 with an unofficial edition, and was discontinued after the 2001 edition....
  
  : 1

1990

• Mohamed V Cup: 1

1979

• North African Champions Cup
  North African Champions Cup
  The North African Champions Cup was a football competition involving the then French territories of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.It was played between the champions of the Tunisian and Moroccan leagues and the 3 Algerian regional leagues. Morocco did not enter their champions until the 1928/29 season...
  
  : 3

1948, 1949, 1950

• North African Cup
  North African Cup
  The North African Cup was a football competition involving the then French territories of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia from 1930 to 1956. The tournament was contested between the clubs of five leagues, with Morocco and Tunisia contributing one league each, and Algeria contributing leagues from the...
  
  : 1

1949

Performance in CAF competitions

• CAF Champions League
  CAF Champions League
  The CAF Champions League is an annual international club football competition run by the Confederation of African Football . The top club sides from Africa's football leagues are invited to participate in this competition, which is the premier club football competition on the continent and the...
  
  : 2 appearances

2007

CAF Champions League 2007

The CAF Champions League 2007 was the 11th occurrence of the CAF Champions League, the most prestigious club football competition in Africa. Étoile du Sahel of Tunisia became champions for the first time, beating Al-Ahly of Egypt 3–1 in a two-legged final.-Preliminary round:The 1st legs were...

 – Second Round

2011

2011 CAF Champions League

The 2011 CAF Champions League was the 47th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football , and the 15th edition under the current CAF Champions League format...

 – Finalist

• African Cup of Champions Clubs: 5 appearances

1987

African Cup of Champions Clubs 1987

The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1987 was the 23rd edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...

 – Second Round

1991

African Cup of Champions Clubs 1991

The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1991 was the 26th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...

 – Quarter-Finals

1992

African Cup of Champions Clubs 1992

The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1992 was the 27th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...

 – Champion

1993

African Cup of Champions Clubs 1993

The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1993 was the 28th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...

 – Second Round

1994

African Cup of Champions Clubs 1994

The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1994 was the 29th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region , the African Cup of Champions Clubs...

 – Second Round

• CAF Confederation Cup
  CAF Confederation Cup
  The CAF Confederation Cup is an international club association football competition run by the Confederation of African Football.-Qualification:...
  
  : 2 appearances

2004 – Intermediate Round

2007

CAF Confederation Cup 2007

The CAF Confederation Cup 2007 is scheduled to begin with the preliminary round in late January and mid-February with the second round in March and the third round in April.-Preliminary round:1st legs played 26–28 January 2007....

 – Intermediate Round

• CAF Cup
  CAF Cup
  The CAF Cup was an annual competition organised by the CAF for domestic leagues runner-ups of member associations who haven't qualified to one of the two pre-existing CAF international club competitions the African Cup of Champions Clubs or the African Cup Winners' Cup.-Format:Only runner-ups of...
  
  : 3 appearances

1999 – Finalist

2000 – Second Round

2001

2001 CAF Cup

The 2001 CAF Cup was the 10th edition of the CAF Cup, the African continental club competition for runners up of the respective domestic leagues. It was won by Algerian team JS Kabylie who beat Étoile Sportive du Sahel of Tunisia on the away goals rule in the final, after the two teams finished...

 – Quarter-Finals

• CAF Cup Winners' Cup: 3 appearances

1998 – Semi-Finals

2002 – Champion

2003 – Semi-Finals

Current squad

Presidents

Mohamed Benjelloun (1939-42) Abdelkader Benjelloun (1943-44) Abdellatif Alami (1944-45) Mohamed Belahssan Benjelloun (1945-48) Abderrahmane Slaoui (1948-49) Abderrahmane El-Khatib (1949-56) Azzedine Benjelloun (1956-62) Nacer Laraki (1962-63) Hassan El-Joundi (1963-65)
Ahmed Lahrizi (1965-71) Abderrazak Lahlou (1971-72) Abderrazak Mekouar (1972-93) Boubker Jdahim (1996-97) Abdelmalik Sentissi (1993-99) Nasserdine Doublali (1999-03) Abdelilah El-Manjra (2003-05) Taïb El-Fechtali (2005-07) Abdelillah El-Akram (2007-12) Mustafa Adiane (2012-)