Moroccan fans rock the stands at the Club World Cup

In Casablanca, the Mohammed V stadium shakes with the chants of Wydad fans, who wave a large flag in the stands at the start of matches, a celebration that will travel to Tangier and Rabat during the Club World Cup.

The 10,000 “Winners” – Wydad Casablanca fans – put on an impressive show, worthy of the fame of Moroccan supporters, capable of stealing the spotlight from the players on the pitch.

On the flag, the message “Free Souls” (free souls), the motto of the group.

Current African continental champion, WAC – as Wydad is known – has the ambition to surprise in the Club World Cup, until then won only by European and South American teams.

His campaign begins on Saturday against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, seeking a place in the semifinals against Flamengo, next Tuesday, in Tangier.

“I couldn’t describe my love for the Wydad fans, it’s something very special”, he tells AFP Houssam Ait Wahman, an 18-year-old fan.

“No crowd in the world can rival ours”, continues Wahman, accompanied by his mother and two sisters.

As if they were conductors of an orchestra, the “Winners” – considered the best crowd movement in 2022 by the group Ultras World, a reference on social networks – sing, light flares and move the lights of their cell phones in a rehearsed choreography.

“Supporting Wydad is a passion, a commitment that goes beyond football. We do our best defending values ​​such as respect, family and solidarity”, explains Mohamed, a former ‘Winner’ who prefers not to reveal his last name.

create show

Supporters of great rivals, Raja Casablanca, are also known for their parties in the stands.

“Creating spectacle is the hallmark of supporters. A way of expressing themselves, of making themselves seen”, emphasizes Moroccan sociologist Abderrahim Bourkia, author of a reference essay, “Ultras in the City”.

Raja’s arrangements “Green Boys” and “Ultra Eagles” often go viral on social media. This was the case with “FBladi delmouni” (Opressed in my country), a song that denounces inequalities and injustice in Morocco.

In Algeria, demonstrators from the Hirak popular protest movement sang it in 2019 and 2020. The anthem was also adopted by Palestinians.

“The Raja’s model leans towards a militant culture, giving voice to the voiceless, against oppression and denouncing corruption”, points out a former Raja ultra.

Other engaging lyrics are sung by Wydad and Ittihad Tanger fans, with the stadiums becoming “spaces of expression”, explains Bourkia.

Unique experience

A country fanatical about football, Morocco is experiencing a moment of collective euphoria after its national team reached the semifinals of the World Cup and ended the tournament in fourth place, the best campaign by an African country. There, the fans’ creativity knows no bounds.

If the “Winners” prefer aesthetics, with references to culture – the Game Of Thrones series or the Death Note anime -, the “Green Boys” and “Ultra Eagles” bring the most unexpected themes to the stadiums.

In the classics against Wydad, Raja fans are inspired by the Franco-Romanian playwright Eugene Ionesco and the book ‘1984’, George Orwell’s anti-totalitarian dystopia, with the risk of provoking criticism from conservative press vehicles or banning their banners .

“Being part of the organizations is a unique experience. Being in an exchange venue, feeling listened to, is something that forges a personality”, says a Raja supporter.

The downside is that Moroccan stadiums are often the scene of acts of vandalism, mainly fights between opposing groups of fans.

After the deaths of two people in 2016, the authorities banned organized supporters in stadiums for two years.

“Unfortunately it is a problem linked to society. There is a herd effect, when just one person does something stupid, everything is triggered”, explains Mohamed.

“Some release their frustration with songs and others with violence”, says Bourkia, for whom the solution is “to invest in the education of young people”.