List of Raja CA presidents
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Raja Club Athletic (Arabic: نادي الرجاء الرياضي, romanized: Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī) commonly referred to as Raja CA, is a professional sports club based in Casablanca, Morocco.
This chronological list comprises all those who have managed the club since its foundation on 20 March 1949. Each president's entry includes his dates of tenure, the significant achievements accomplished under his care and some remarks concerning his spell.
Raja CA is owned and run by its members (in Arabic: المنخرطين) since its founding. They elect the president in a general assembly. The president has the responsibility for the overall management of the club, including formally signing contracts with players and staff. Abdellah Rhallam is the longest-serving president of the club (9 years, from 1992 to 1998 and from 2007 to 2010). He's also, tied with Ahmed Ammor, the most successful president (6 trophies).
The founders (1949–60)
Raja CA has been led by a provisional commission instead of a president twice, the first was managed by Abdellah Rhallam in 2007, and the second by Mohamed Aouzal in 2018. The longest-serving president is Abdellah Rhallam (1992-1998, 2007–2010).
Elected on March 20, 1949, the Franco-Algerian Hajji Ben Abadji is the first president in the club's history, although he's not actually among the founders. Owner of a contract drafting office in Derb Sultan, he was suggested by his Algerian friend Rihani to circumvent the French law who prohibited, at the time of the Protectorate, the presidency of a sports club to a Moroccan citizen.[1]
Meanwhile, Moulay Sassi Aboudarka Alaoui is designated honorary president. Ben Abadji remains the first and only non-Moroccan president. In its early years, Raja was managed by presidents who belonged to the founding assembly, such as Boujemaâ Kadri and Laâchfoubi El Bouazzaoui.
The unionists (1960–89)
During the 1960s and 1970s, some remarkable figures from the political and trade union sphere took over the club, such as Maâti Bouabid, Prime Minister of Morocco (1979-1983), Minister of Justice (1977-1981) and founder of the Constitutional Union, Abdellatif Semlali, Minister of Youth and Sports (1983-1992) or Abdelouhahed Maâch, Secretary-general of the Democratic Independence Party (1992-2016).[2]
In 1959, the Istiqlal Party witnessed a historic split from the left-wing and progressive side led by Abderrahim Bouabid, Abdallah Ibrahim and Mehdi Ben Barka from the conservative and nationalist heart of the Party, led by Allal El Fassi and Ahmed Balafrej, giving birth to the National Union of Popular Forces.[3][4] This new class had the support of a number of youth organizations, in particular the sports and worker youth of the Moroccan Workers' Union (UMT), at the time the only trade union center in Morocco.[4]
In 1960, UMT became the main sponsor of Raja CA, which became in some way its representative on the football pitch and many members of the union played for the club. The club's first title won in 1974 was offered to Mahjoub Ben Seddik, founder and historic leader of UMT.[5]
After a recomposition of the committee during the 1961 general assembly, several personalities who have greatly contributed to the club were awarded with honorary status :[6]
- Abdallah Ibrahim
- Abderrahim Bouabid
- Maâti Bouabid
- Mahjoub Ben Seddik
- Driss Slaoui
- Ahmed Laski
- Mohamed Abderrazak
- Mohamed Ben Saleh
- Mohamed El Alami
However, this unionist tendency did not prevent the integration of personalities belonging to other political currents such as Abdelouhahed Maâch, Abdellatif Semlali or Mohamed Abied who served as a treasurer of the club during the 1970s.[7]
The « wise council » (1989–2012)
Between 1989 and 2012, five persons who are Abdelhamid Souiri, Mohamed Aouzal, Abdellah Rhallam, Ahmed Ammor and Abdesalam Hanat, take turns the presidency of Raja for 23 years (with the exception of Ahmed Ammor who performed only one spell). With Abdelkader Retnani, they formed the « wise council », an advisory committee at the disposal of the president.[8][9][10] After the resignation of Abdesalam Hanat, Mohamed Boudrika was elected on June 7, 2012, at the head of the club, and became, at the age of 28, the youngest president of club's history. He arrived with large financial resources and promised a new era.[11][12]
Modern era (2012–)
Coming to the end of his four-year term, Mohamed Boudrika was replaced in June 2016 by Said Hasbane who stated upon his arrival that the club was in financial crisis.[13] On April 6, 2018, due to popular pressure from supporter and club members, Said Hasbane resigned from his position.[14]
Former president Mohamed Aouzal set up a provisional committee to manage the club until the end of the season. On September 13, 2018, Jawad Ziyat is elected new president of Raja CA.[15] He promises to continue the work of the previous committee, adding that he will do his best to get the club out of his financial crisis.[16]
On November 15, 2020, Ziyat met his committee by video-conference to inform them of his decision to end his mandate. On December 14, 2020, Rachid Andaloussi succeeded him as an interim president.[17] Unanimously elected in June 2022, Aziz El Badraoui resigns after one year due to poor results.
Elected in May 2023, Mohamed Boudrika is the current president of Raja Club Athletic. On 19 July 2024, Adil Hala succeeded him on an interim basis due to his absence, until the next general meeting. As the sole candidate with the same committee, he was elected by a majority on 12 September 2024, before resigning on 27 January 2025.[18] Abdellah Biraouine succeeded him on interim.[19]
On 7 July 2025, the Raja Parliament voted Jawad Ziyat as new club president after an eight-hour general assembly.[20]
President designation
It is the members who elect by vote, the president of the Raja Club Athletic at the end of the general assembly, whether it's ordinary or extraordinary.[21]
The ordinary general meeting takes place every year and has as main objectives the discussion and approval of the moral and financial reports of the past season, and the election of a new president if the mandate of the outgoing one comes to an end or if the committee resigns. The extraordinary general assembly is held in case of emergency under the request of the majority of the members or of the president himself.[22][23]
The club's internal law set no limit to the number of terms allowed for the president, and set the length of a term at four years. Since 1998, only Ahmed Ammor and Mohamed Boudrika have completed their four-year terms.
In the case of a resignation of the president, article 23 of chapter 4 of the club's law say that the first vice-president, if he expresses the will and if no candidate appears, will preside the club on interim until the next assembly.[24]
Committee
Article 23 states: "In addition to the president, the management committee must contain between 9 and 15 members. Among them are elected: a first and a second vice-president, a general secretary and his assistant, a treasurer and his assistant and between 3 and 9 advisers.
The president have to constitute his committee and announcing it within a period which generally does not exceed fifteen days according to article 20 of the club's statutes.[25][26][27][28] All club positions, including president, are honorary and without any financial compensation.
In 2020, Raja Club Athletic S.A. is created under the supervision of the Minister of Youth and Sports with a capital divided into 3000 shares. The Raja Club Athletic association is the majority shareholder of the S.A with 2984 shares, while a single share is granted as a loan to each member of the committee, then 16 in number. The shares do not belong to them, once a member leaves the committee, he must transfer his share to the association, that means that no one really owns the share.[29][30]
