Down to the wire as raja, moghreb eye 'prestigious' title

With the huge prize of Champions League football next season and a place at this year’s FIFA Club World Cup, Morocco’s national championship, the Championnat Botola goes down to the wire this Sunday May 25 with Raja Club Athletic and Moghreb Tetoaun in a two horse race for the title.

Both clubs are tied on 55 points but Raja leads the way on account of their superior number of goals.
Eyeing their 12th title, Raja will be away at the El Massira Stadium as guests of Olympic Club de Safi while Moghreb Tetouan hosts Renaissance Sportive de Berkane (RSB) at the Saniat Rmel in the northern Moroccan city of Tetouan.

The duels are tricky for the two title contenders. Raja were held to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture in Casablanca last August and Moghreb Tetouan beat RSB Berkane by a lone goal on the same day in Berkane. Twelve-placed Olympic Club de Safi must avoid defeat to be assured of their continued stay in the top flight making their fixture against Raja more interesting. RSB will be playing for pride, knowing that they have a say in deciding the winner of the league.

Following their impressive output at last year’s edition where they lost out to European champions, Bayern Munich in the final; Raja are eyeing yet another opportunity to rub shoulders with the world’s elite clubs in the prestigious tournament Morocco will host again in December.

Mogreb Tetouan, whose only league triumph was the 2011/2012 season title had led the table until the penultimate round, when a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of fellow contenders Raja last week saw them slip to second place.

From the previous 29 games, Moghreb Tetouan have recorded 15 wins, 10 draws and 4 losses with 16 wins, seven draws and six losses making up Raja’s tally of 55 points.

Raja coach, Faouzi Benzarti, a familiar face in his native Tunisia and Libya, thanks to a brief stint with the Mediterranean Knights in 2008, is hoping to guide the ‘Green Devils’ to the ultimate in his first year in charge.

Meanwhile, the relegation battle is far from over with AS Sale, Maghreb Fes, OC Khourigba and bottom-placed Wydad Fes in the battle to beat the drop.

Confederation of African Football (CAF) News