IR Tangier

Football club based in Tangier, Morocco From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ittihad Riadi Tanger (Arabic: الاتحاد الرياضي لطنجة; lit.'Sports Union of Tangier'),[1] often shortened to IR Tanger or the abbreviation IRT, is a Moroccan football club based in Tangier. It competes in the Botola Pro, Morocco's top professional football league.[2]

Full nameIttihad Riadi de Tanger
NicknamesFaris Al Boughaz (team)
Hercules (supporters)
Short nameIRT
Founded1957; 69 years ago (1957)
Quick facts Full name, Nicknames ...
IR Tanger
Full nameIttihad Riadi de Tanger
NicknamesFaris Al Boughaz (team)
Hercules (supporters)
Short nameIRT
Founded1957; 69 years ago (1957)
GroundTangier Grand Stadium
Capacity75,000
ChairmanNassrallah El Guartit
ManagerAbdelhak Benchikha
LeagueBotola Pro
2024–25Botola Pro, 10th of 16
Websiteirtfoot.ma
Current season
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Following the independence of Morocco in 1956, the club was officially founded in 1957 under the name Unión Deportiva de Tánger (UDT). In 1983, several local football clubs were merged into UDT, resulting in the formation of Ittihad Riadi Tanger.

IR Tanger's home games are hosted at Tangier Grand Stadium. In the past, Stade de Marchan was their home stadium until its demolition.

IR Tanger has a large fan base in northern Morocco, particularly in the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region.

History

IR Tangier back in the late 1980s and 1990s.

IR Tanger was created by the fusion of several clubs in 1944. In the early 1990s, IR Tangier became one of the most successful clubs in the Botola. However, the club failed to win any trophies, although they came close in the 1989–90 season when they finished as runners-up. The 1989 season was considered by many to be their best season, as the team was victorious over many other notable Botola clubs, defeating Raja Casablanca 3-1 and Maghreb de Fès 3–0.

During the late 1990s, IR Tanger failed to achieve anything besides maintaining itself in the Botola. The club ended up getting relegated twice before the early 2000s, finishing unsuccessfully during the 1995–96 and 1997–98 seasons.

In July 2000, the club hired Coach Omar Raiss. He oversaw the improvement in the club's performance during the 2000–01 season, during which they scored 50 goals. Because of their performance, the club received a promotion. Their performance declined, however, with their only notable achievement in the early 2000s being a Throne Cup they won during the semi-final in the 2005–06 season. The following season became IR Tanger's last in the Botola for the next few years. During this time, the club's results were poor, and they would very often finish unsuccessfully.

During later years, after IR Tanger set up a new directive committee, it nearly made it back to the Botola during the 2013–14 season. With a series of transfers and the arrival of Coach Mohamed Amine Benhachem, the team cruised through the 2014–15 season, losing only twice and finishing first by a five-point lead.

During the 2015–16 season, the team made a comeback to the Botola Pro. The club contracted with many local and foreign players, finishing third in their first season and qualifying for the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup for the first time.

IR Tangiers team in 2015–16 Season

Supporters and rivalries

In 2003, the club's ultras, called Ultras Tanger, was founded; this group no longer exists and has instead been replaced by the ultras group named Ultras Hercules that was founded in 2007.

IR Tanger has a rivalry with Moghreb Tétouan, which belongs to the neighboring city, Tétouan.

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Crest and shirt

The official crest was designed by the club's founders. It depicts the full name of the club and the year it was founded. The blue lining represents the club's location in northern Morocco.

The official home shirts are similar to the crest, colored blue and white. IR Tanger's traditional away colors change every season but are usually based on light blue with a sponsor's logo on the top.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

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Stadium

The club hosted their home matches in the Stade de Marchan, a stadium with a capacity of 15,000 seats, until it was demolished. The Stade de Marchan hosted several notable matches like the one between IR Tanger vs. Wydad Casablanca during the 1989–90 season. In 2011 the club moved to the then-new Tangier Grand Stadium, which has a capacity of 75,000 (that will be increased to a maximum of 92,000 seats).

More information Stadium, Period ...
Stadium Period
Stade de Marchan 1983–2011
Tangier Grand Stadium 2012–present
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Ibn Batouta Stadium

Season results

League and cup

More information Season, League ...
Season League Top goalscorer Moroccan Cup
Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA Pts Name League
2015–16 1st 3rd 30 14 8 8 36 23 50 Ivory Coast Hervé Guy 7 Quarter-finals
2016–17 1st 5th 30 12 9 9 33 25 45 Morocco Ahmed Hammoudan 6 Semi-finals
2017–18 1st 1st 30 14 10 6 34 23 52 Morocco Mehdi Naghmi 13 Round of 16
2018–19 1st 5th 30 9 13 8 27 30 40 Morocco Mehdi Naghmi 9 Round of 16
2019–20 1st 14th 30 7 11 12 20 36 32 Morocco Sofian El Moudane 4 Quarter-finals
2020–21 1st 8th 30 10 6 14 29 36 36 Gabon Axel Méyé 12 Round of 16
2021–22 1st 13th 30 8 9 13 31 41 33 Gabon Axel Méyé 12 Round of 16
2022–23 1st 14th 30 8 5 17 23 39 29 Morocco Sofian El Moudane 5 Round of 16
2023–24 1st 12th 30 7 12 11 29 38 33 Morocco Ismail Khafi 13 Round of 32
2024–25 1st 10th 30 9 10 11 35 37 37 Morocco Ali El Harrak & Morocco Hamza El Wasti 7 Round of 32
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African competitions

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Arab competition

More information Year, Competition ...
Year Competition Round Opponent Score Position Q
2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup PR Bahrain Riffa SC 0–2 2nd
Iraq Al-Zawraa SC 3–0
Somalia Horseed FC 1–6
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Notes
  • PR: Preliminary round
  • 1R: First round
  • PO: Play-off round

Honours

More information Type, Competition ...
Type Competition Titles Winning Seasons Runners-up
Domestic Botola Pro 1 2017–18 1989–90
Botola 2 3 1961–62, 2000–01, 2014–15 1986–87, 1996–97,
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Players

Current squad

As of 24 January 2026[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

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Reserve team and Youth Academy

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

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Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

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Former players

Personnel

Current technical staff

More information Position, Name ...
Position Name
First team head coach Morocco Hilal Et-tair
Assistant coach Morocco Abdelouahed Benkacem
Goalkeeping coach Morocco Mohammed Bestara
Fitness coach Morocco Rachid Blej
Performance analyst Morocco Ahmed Zekhnini
Club doctor Morocco Houssine Azizi
Physiotherapist Morocco Nacereddine Jabouri
Healer Morocco Abdelmonhem Nafie
Delegate Morocco Ali Haddou
Hope's team coach Morocco Khalid Bahid
Hope's team assistant coach Morocco Youssef Sekour
Hope's Team Fitness coach Morocco Ahmed Azmi
Formation center manager Morocco Abdelhakim Ben Saddik
Director of Performance and Scouting Morocco Oualid Tanazefti[4]
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Source:[5][6]

Managers

Management

Board of directors

More information Position, Name ...
Position Name
PresidentNassrallah El Guartit
Executive Office MembersRachid El Hassani
Anass El Ouassini
Issam Talibi
Abdellah El Mrabet Dajidi
Noureddine Changachi
Rabie Jaabak
Samir Temlali
Zakaria Hachoumi
Yassine Temsamani
Omar Al Abbas
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Source:[7]

Presidents

  • Abdessalam Aghziel (1983–84)
  • Amine Assoufi
  • Abdeslam Arbaine
  • Hassan Bouhrize
  • Mohammed Zbakh
  • Mohamed Larbi Bouras (2002–04)
  • Abdelhak Bakhat (2009)
  • Adil Defouf (–2012)
  • Abdelhamid Aberchane (2013–21)
  • Mohamed Ahagan (2021–22)[8]
  • Mohammed Cherkaoui (2023–24)[9][10]
  • Nassrallah El Guartit (2024–)

Partnerships

See also

References

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