The 2015–16 Botola, also known as Botola Maroc Telecom for sponsorship reasons, is the 59th season of the Premier League, the top Moroccan professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1915. The fixtures were announced on 22 July 2015. The season started on 5 September 2015 and is scheduled to conclude on 15 April 2016.
Wydad came into the season as defending champions of the 2014–15 season. IR Tanger and MC Oujda entered as the two promoted teams from the 2014–15 GNF 2.
On June 5, 2016, FUS Rabat won the football championship after a 4–2 victory against Mouloudia D'Oujda. The FUS Rabat club won the championship for the first time after being runner-up to the title for 5 previous times.
Teams A total of 16 teams compete in the league, including 14 sides from the 2014–15 season and two promoted from the 2014–15 GNF 2. On 12 April 2015, Tanger became the first Championship side to be promoted following their 0–0 draw over Youssoufia Berrechid in week 27. On 4 May 2015 (in week 30), MC Oujda got promoted to the top flight after defeating US Temara 1–0 in their home match.
The two promoted clubs replaced Chabab Atlas Khenifra and Ittihad Khemisset.
Stadium and locations
Team AcronymLocation Stadium Capacity Chabab Rif Al Hoceima CRA Al Hoceima Stade Mimoun Al Arsi 12,000 Difaâ El Jadidi DHJ El Jadida Stade El Abdi 15,000 AS FAR Club AS FAR Rabat Stade Moulay Abdellah 65,000 Fath Union Sport FUS Rabat Stade de FUS 15,000 Hassania Agadir HUSA Agadir Stade Adrar 45,480 IR Tanger IRT Tanger Grand Stade de Tanger 45,000 KAC Kénitra KAC Kenitra Stade Municipal (Kenitra) 15,000 Kawkab Marrakech KACM Marrakesh Marrakesh Stadium 45,240 MAS Fez MAS Fez Fez Stadium 45,000 Moghreb Tétouan MAT Tétouan Saniat Rmel 15,000 MC Oujda MCO Oujda Honneur Stadium 30,000 Olympic Safi OCS Safi Stade El Massira 10,000 Olympique Khouribga OCK Khouribga Complexe OCP 10,000 Raja Casablanca RCA Casablanca Stade Mohamed V 67,000 RSB Berkane RSB Berkane Stade Municipal 15,000 Wydad Casablanca WAC Casablanca Stade Mohamed V 67,000
Personnel and kits +TeamsManagers1Kit manufacturerShirt sponsorChabab Rif Al Hoceima Fouad SahabiAl Omrane, KoutoubiaDifaâ El Jadidi Abderrahim TalebUhlsportOCP, AlitkanAS FAR Club Abdelmalek El AzizJomaFUS Rabat Walid RegraguiNikeHassania Agadir Abdelhadi SektiouiUmbroIfriquiyaIR Tanger Abdelhak BenchikhaBang SportsMoroccan Airports AuthorityKAC Kénitra Samir YaichSarsons SportsKoutoubiaKawkab Marrakesh Hassan BenabichaAdidasKoutoubiaMAS Fez Mohammed El AchhabiM SportIngelecMC Oujda Azzedine Aït DjoudiJomaMoghreb Tétouan Sergio LoberaKing Sports MarocAbrounOC Khouribga Youssef El MriniNikeOlympic Safi Hicham DmiiRaja Casablanca Rachid TaoussiAdidasHyundaiRSB Berkane Bertrand MarchandNikeWydad Casablanca John ToshackAdidasIngelec 1 According to current revision of List of Moroccan Football League managers Additionally, referee kits are made by Adidas. Maroc Telecom is a sponsor for all the league's teams.
Managerial changes +TeamsOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyIncoming managerDate of appointmentOlympic Safi Youssef FertoutSacked29 May 2015 Aziz El Amri29 May 2015IR Tanger Mohamed Amine BenhachemSacked2 June 2015 Abdelhak Benchikha2 June 2015CR Al Hoceima Aziz El AmriSacked5 June 2015 Kamal Zouaghi5 June 2015Maghreb of Fez Rachid TaoussiSacked5 November 2015 Denis Lavagne14 November 2015Raja Casablanca Ruud KrolSacked5 November 2015 Rachid Taoussi5 November 2015CR Al Hoceima Kamal ZouaghiSacked28 December 2015 Fouad Sahabi30 December 2015Kawkab Marrakesh Hicham DmiiSacked8 January 2016 Hassan Benabicha9 January 2016Difaâ El Jadidi Jamal SellamiSacked15 February 2016 Abderrahim Taleb22 February 2016OC Khouribga Ahmad Al-AjlaniResigned9 March 2016 Karim Zouaghi9 March 2016Maghreb of Fez Denis LavagneSacked28 March 2016 Mohammed El Achhabi28 March 2016AS FAR Club José RomãoResigned1 April 2016 Abdelmalek El Aziz3 April 2016Olympic Safi Aziz El AmriSacked3 April 2016 Hicham Dmii6 April 2016OC Khouribga Karim ZouaghiSacked19 April 2016 Youssef El Mrini21 April 2016
Results
League table
Result table
Season statistics
Scoring
Top scorers fifa.com mountakhab.net goalzz.com RankPlayerClubGoals1 Mehdi NaghmiFAR Rabat122 Mourad BatnaFUS Rabat11 Abdelilah HafidiRaja Casablanca4 Reda HajhoujWydad Casablanca9 Achraf BencharkiMaghreb of Fez6 Zakaria HadrafDifaâ El Jadidi87 Hervé GuyIR Tanger7 Abdessamad El MobarkyChabab Rif Al Hoceima Badie AoukHassania Agadir Yassin DahbiMC Oujda
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Ref. Noureddine El Gourch Hassania Agadir Moghreb Tétouan 2–4 (A) 22 September 2015 Abdelilah Hafidi Raja Casablanca Hassania Agadir 5–1 (H) 29 May 2016 Achraf Bencharki Maghreb of Fez Hassania Agadir 2–5 (A) 4 June 2016 4 Player scored four goals5 Player scored five goals(H) - Home; (A) - Away
Annual awards The Royal Moroccan Football Federation, in coordination with the LNFP ( Ligue Nationale du Football Professionnel) and the UMFP (Union Marocaine des Footballeurs Professionnels), organized the 2nd edition of the "Stars' Night" in honor of the players and coacheswho were distinguished during the 2015/2016 season.
Award Winner Club Manager of the Season Walid Regragui Fath US Player of the Season Mourad Batna Fath US Promising Player of the Season Reda Hajhouj Wydad AC Foreign Player of the Season Michael Babatunde Raja CA
Attendances
No. Club Average 1 IRT 23,572 2 Wydad 20,438 3 Raja 20,167 4 HUSA 11,842 5 AS FAR 10,953 6 MC Oujda 9,276 7 MAS 9,104 8 MAT 8,319 9 Safi 7,482 10 KACM 6,751 11 KAC 6,498 12 Khouribga 5,512 13 Difaâ El-Jadida 5,048 14 FUS 4,489 15 Renaissance de Berkane 3,074 16 Al-Hoceima 2,823
See also 2015–16 GNF 2 2016 CAF Champions League 2016 CAF Confederation Cup
References
External links
Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football