Raja Club Athletic (Arabic: نادي الرجاء الرياضي, romanized: Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī) is a professional sports club based in Casablanca, Morocco. The club was founded on 20 March 1949 in Derb Sultan by a group of Moroccan nationalists and trade unionists, including , the team's first coach, and Maati Bouabid, future Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, who regarded football as a way of resistance against the French colonizer, and wanted to join the sporting clubs of Casablanca. For more than a year, Raja only played friendly matches before receiving affiliation to Ligue du Maroc de Football Association at the start of the 1950–51 season, earning the right to join the national football leagues.

In 1950, composed of only Moroccan players, Raja began its journey from the lowest tier of the national football structure, and came at the top of the 4th division (Groupe Chaouia-Nord). The team played in the 1st Division (3rd tier) for a single season, finishing second of the 1951–52 edition and earning promotion to the Pré-honneur Division (second tier) where it would play for three seasons before sports competitions were boycotted then stopped in 1955. The following year, Raja will dominate the play-offs and established itself as one of the founding members of Botola under the newly created Royal Moroccan Football Federation, and played the first edition that debuted on 15 November 1956. Since this day, Raja is one of only three clubs never to have been relegated from the top tier of Moroccan football, the others being Wydad AC and AS FAR.

After the usurped 1959–60 Botola, Raja struggled to recover and lost two Throne Cup finals in 1965 and 1968. The first two trophies were gained in 1974 and 1977 and the team reached Botola podium five consecutive times between 1972 and 1977, but failed to win the title. This period is marked by players such as Abdelmajid Dolmy, Petchou, Houmane Jarir and Said Ghandi. The following decade was up and down but led to the first Botola title and the 1989 African Champion Clubs' Cup.

In the 1990s, Raja established its supremacy on national football by winning six consecutive leagues, and in Africa by gaining many titles in Champions League, African Super Cup and Afro-Asian Cup. In 2000, Raja was the first Arab and African team to qualify for the Club World Cup. This successful period is closely associated with players like Mustapha Moustawdae, Abdellatif Jrindou, Mustapha Khalif or Mustapha Chadli and managers like Vahid Halilhodžić and Oscar Fulloné who still remain the most successful in the club's history. The 2000s were marked by sporting instability mainly caused by the sale of key players to Europe or to The Gulf and the frequent manager changes. Nevertheless, the club won several international titles: 2003 CAF Cup, 2006 Arab Champions League and lost the 2002 Champions League final. After the 2013 Club World Cup final, Mohamed Boudrika's poor management dragged the club into a big financial crisis and caused setbacks in the league and the Champions League. His successor Said Hasbane did not improve the club's situation and resigned due to popular pressure in 2018. New president Jawad Ziyat got the ball rolling financially and Raja managed to win their first African title in fifteen years and their first Botola in seven years.

This list details the club's competitive performance and achievements for each season, and provides statistics and top scorers for national and international competitions.

Key

Table headers Pos = Final position Pld = Matches played W = Matches won D = Matches drawn L = Matches lost GF = Goals for GA = Goals against Pts = Points

Divisions LMFA (1922–1956)D2 Chaouia-Nord = 4th tier1st Division = 3rd tierPré-honneur = 2nd tierD1 (1956–1996), GNF1 (1996–2009), Botola 1 (2009–2011), Botola Pro (2011–) Promotion Botola Top scorer

Results and rounds or = Champion or Winner or = Runner-up = 3rd position SF = Semi-finals QF = Quarter-finals GS = Group stage R1 / R2 / R3 = First, second and third round R16 / R32 = Round of 16 and 32 PR = Preliminary round

Seasons This list is updated as of 15 June 2024. Ongoing competitions are shown in italics. +Raja CA performance in domestic and international competitions by seasonSeasonLeagueThrone CupCompetitionResultOther competitionsResultTop scorer(s)DivisionPosPtsPldWDLGFGAAfricaOtherPlayer(s)Goals1949–50Raja CA did not compete in competitive football and played only friendly matches.1950–51Division Promotion (Groupe Chaouia-Nord)1st –12 – – – – – –North African CupR1————1951–52First Division2nd –16 – – – – – –North African CupR1————1952–53Pré-honneur6th –22 – – – – – –North African CupR3————1953–54Pré-honneur5th –22 – – – – – –North African CupR2————1954–55Pré-honneur9th –22 – – – – – –North African CupR1————1955–56National competitions were boycotted in 1956 due to political conflicts during the French ProtectorateNorth African CupR2————1956–57D110th6030118113438R16————Acila111957–58D14th6128101353320R16————Acila101958–59D14th5726101153425SF——————1959–60D13rd542411853214SF————Hanoun221960–61D15th542681263535R16————Hanoun111961–62D17th532610793528R16——————1962–63D13rd542691073528QF——————1963–64D19th52268992934SF——————1964–65D112th502661282529RU——————1965–66D12nd562691252720R16——————1966–67D13rd6530101553319R16————Houmane181967–68D13rd7334121574229RU————Houmane161968–69D113th573051782123SF——————1969–70D13rd6630111452617QF——————1970–71D111th5730713102832R16——————1971–72D110th5830812103641R16————Ghandi151972–73D13th6330111183631R16————Petchou131973–74D12nd633012993426W————Petchou91974–75D13th6630101644728R32————Ghandi101975–76D13th6630101643429SF——————1976–77D14th6430146103325W——————1977–78D110th5830910114340R32——————1978–79D19th393091293028R32——————1979–80D19th593081392926QF————Lâarabi111980–81D13rd8338161394524R16————Lâarabi101981–82D15th71341311102824WCup Winners' CupR1————1982–83D15th633012992719RU——————1983–84D13rd6330101372921QF————Ouhammouch91984–85D16th6230128103225R16——————1985–86D12nd9138201354817R16——————1986–87D1 (Group B)3rd492210752715R32——————D1 (Plays-offs)5th16824278——————1987–88D11st793418973014QF——Arab Club Champions CupPR——1988–89D19th603081482929R32African CupW——Jamal, Ouldmou, Diagne71989–90D15th6330111183429QFAfrican CupR2————1990–91D19th603091292928QF——————1991–92D12nd6630111452517RU——————1992–93D12nd643091652614SF——————1993–94D14th6430121082115R32——————1994–95D18th593091292623R16——————1995–96D11st573016954316W——Arab Club Champions CupRU——1996–97D11st5530151054524R16Champions LeagueWArab Super CupGS——1997–98GNF11st6730191015113QFSuper CupRU————Champions LeagueSF————1998–99GNF11st6230171124214R32Afro-Asian ChampionshipW————Champions LeagueW————1999–2000GNF11st5930161134522QFFIFA Club World ChampionshipGS————Super CupW————Champions LeagueQF————2000–01GNF11st643019743312SFChampions LeagueR2————2001–02GNF13rd553016774218WChampions LeagueRU——Diallo152002–03GNF12nd5230131343618SFCAF CupWArab Unified Club ChampionshipSFAboucherouane232003–04GNF11st5630151144019QFChampions LeagueR1——Bidoudane152004–05GNF12nd603018664217WChampions LeagueSF——Alloudi162005–06GNF14th5130131253424QF Champions LeagueR2——Bidoudane12Confederation CupR4Arab Champions LeagueW2006–07GNF111th353071492320QF——Arab Champions LeagueR16Alloudi172007–08GNF13rd4830121263223QF——Arab Champions LeagueGSSenghor92008–09GNF11st6130171034417R32——Arab Champions LeagueR16Moutouali102009–10Botola 12nd5230141063926R16Champions LeagueR2North African Cup of ChampionsSFNajdi132010–11Botola 11st603018664523R32Champions LeagueGS——Taïr82011–12Botola Pro4th513014973424WChampions LeagueR2——Salhi162012–13Botola Pro1st663019925624RU——UAFA CupSFIajour122013–14Botola Pro2nd553016774015R162013 Club World CupRU——Iajour16Champions LeagueR2——2014–15Botola Pro8th3830911103734SFChampions LeagueR3——Hafidi9Confederation CupR4——2015–16Botola Pro5th473013894830R32————Hafidi122016–17Botola Pro3rd5730151234217W——UNAF CupWErraki102017–18Botola Pro6th483013984531SFConfederation CupW——Iajour252018–19Botola Pro2nd5530151055636R32Confederation CupGS——Iajour29Super CupWArab Club Champions CupQF2019–20Botola Pro1st603017944323QFChampions LeagueSFArab Club Champions CupWMoutouali152020–21Botola Pro2nd593017854826Champions LeagueR1——Malango24Confederation CupW——2021–22Botola Pro2nd603017944121QFSuper CupRU——Ahaddad12Champions LeagueQF——2022–23Botola Pro5th 4430 11 11 8 31 26RUChampions League QF——Khabba82023–24Botola Pro1st 7230 21 9 0 52 15W——Arab Club Champions Cup QFBouzok162024–25Botola Pro 5th 4830 12 12 6 38 25 R16Champions LeagueGS——Ennafati132025–26Botola Pro3rd563016863919—————Ennafati62026–27Botola Pro––30–––––—Confederation Cup—————SeasonDivisionPosPtsPldWDLGFGAThrone CupInternational competitionsOther competitionsPlayersGoals

Notes

References

External links