Maghreb of Fez

Maghreb of Fez
Full name	Maghreb Association Sportive of Fez ; المغرب الرياضي الفاسي
Nickname(s)	النمور الصفر (Yellow Tigers)
Short name	MAS
Founded	16 October 1946
Ground	Fez Stadium, Fez, Morocco
Capacity	45,000
Chairman	Ismael Jamai
Manager	Abderahim Chkilit
League	Botola
2022-23	10th

Maghreb Association Sportive de Fès^[1] (Arabic: المغرب الرياضي الفاسي) is a Moroccan professional football club based in Fez, that competes in Botola, the top flight of Moroccan football.

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The club was founded in 1946.^[2] Maghreb Association Sportive de Fès, commonly known as MAS, is one of the oldest sports clubs in Morocco. The club was founded on September 16, 1946, in the city of Fès. MAS has a long and distinguished history in Moroccan football, achieving numerous accomplishments and titles over the years.

It also played a significant role in resisting French colonialism in Morocco. The club was established during the French colonial period and was part of the national movement that used sports as a means to promote national identity and resist colonialism.

The club was not merely a sports institution but also a center for national and political activity. Many of the club's members and founders were activists in the national movement striving for independence. For instance, sports activities were used as a cover for meetings and activities aimed at organizing efforts against colonialism.

During that period, sports clubs like Maghreb Association Sportive de Fès were considered effective means to foster national spirit and affirm Moroccan identity, apart from the colonial cultural and political influences. Therefore, it can be said that MAS played an important role in resisting colonialism, not only through sports but also as a platform for national activity.

2007^[3]

Maghreb de Fès established itself as a major force in both Moroccan and African football during the 20th century. In domestic football, the club has won 10 trophies; 4 Botola titles, 4 Moroccan Throne Cup and Botola 2 (Morocco second tier) twice. In continental and global competitions, Maghreb Fez have won 2 trophies; one CAF Confederation Cup and one CAF Super Cup.

History

The Maghreb Fez team is considered one of the founding teams of Moroccan football. Since its founding in 1946, it played a pioneering role, as it was the first non-French team to reach the prize pool in the French Cup, but it met with the big and famous Red Star team at the time.

Since the establishment of the Moroccan championship in 1956, the Maghreb Fez has gained its position with the strong and competed with them for the Moroccan League Championship. Maghreb El Fez has all the characteristics of an independent team, i.e. an office, a president, and financial resources that were provided by the rich of the city. And that was in 1965 through players who carved their names on the Fezian ball,^[4] but were not lucky in the years 1966,^[5] 1971^[6] and 1974^[7] after losing the Moroccan Throne Cup final, to return after that and pay the debt and win the national championship title in 1979 from the team that formed half of the national team such as Mohammed Hazzaz, Liman, Abdallah Tazi and Al-Zahrawi To come after them, the generation of the eighties, who won the Throne Cup title for the first time in 1980, immediately after winning the title in 1979,^[8] and increased the treasury of Morocco Fez with two successive titles of the first national championship in 1983 and the second in 1985.^[9]^[10]

In 1988, Maghreb Fez won the 1987–88 Moroccan Throne Cup after defeating ASFAR 4–2 on penalties in the final.^[11]^[12] They lost the Coupe du Trône five times in 1993 after the 1–0 defeat by Kawkab Marrakech,^[13] 1–0 defeat by Wydad in 2001,^[14] 2–0 defeat by Raja in 2002,^[15] 1–0 defeat by ASFAR in 2008^[16] and 2–1 defeat by FUS Rabat in 2010^[17] before managing to win the 2011 Moroccan Throne Cup after defeating COD Meknès 1–0 in the final.^[18] Maghreb fez defeated Wydad AC in the semi-finals of the throne cup, which is known to be one of the biggest upset in the history of Moroccan football.^[19]

In the 2011 CAF Confederation Cup, They played their first group match in Fez Stadium in which they won 1–0 against JS Kabylie, scored by Chemseddine Chtibi in the 85th minute.^[20] They drew their second against Motema Pembe and won their third against Sunshine Stars.^[21] Maghreb Fez won two and drew one of their 2nd leg matches, They defeated JS Kabylie (1–0)^[22] and defeated Motema Pembe (3–0), while they drew 1–1 against Sunshine Stars.^[23] Maghreb Fez qualified to the knockout stages after finishing top in the group stages winning four matches and drawing two. In the semi-finals they defeated G.D. Interclube on penalties. They were proclaimed Champions after defeating Club Africain in the final.^[24] They automatically qualified to the 2012 CAF Super Cup, in which they defeated Espérance ST and won their second African title for the team.^[25]^[26]

In 2016, they won their 4th Moroccan Throne Cup after defeating Olympic Safi (2–1) in the final, both goals scored by Guiza Djédjé.^[27]^[28]

Grounds

The stadium has been welcoming the team since 2007 at the Fez Stadium, which has a capacity of 45,000 spectators. The construction of the sports complex began in early 1992, and it was expected to be completed in February 1997, as it was scheduled to host the African Youth Cup next to the honorary stadium of Meknes, but the failure to complete the workshops prevented that, after the completion period knew stops And several failures as a result of technical problems added to the original financial envelope in financing the project,^[29] which was what led the interests of the guardianship ministry and the urban group of Fez in 1999 to find another support for the completion of the project, The urban group contributed three million euros, and the concerned ministry contributed eight million euros, while the amount allocated for the completion of this sports landmark, which has a capacity of 45 thousand spectators, was estimated at 35 million euros. Construction and equipment works were completed in 2003.

Highest recorded attendance is 50,000 spectators on 4 December 2011, in which it witnessed Maghreb fez play against Club Africain in the 2011 CAF Confederation Cup final.^[30]

Current squad

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

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No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
2	DF	MAR	Youssef Aguerdoum
3	DF	MAR	Yassine Rami
7	FW	MAR	Soufiane Lagzir
8	MF	MAR	Salaheddine Alami
10	MF	MAR	Ayoub Ouadrasi
12	GK	MAR	Hamza El Ichaoui
13	GK	MAR	Aymane Majid
15	DF	MAR	Mohamed Hamami
16	MF	MAR	Salaheddine Ben Marzouka
17	FW	MAR	Lahcen Gourbi


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	MF	MAR	Haytem Aina
21	MF	MAR	Hamza El Janati
23	DF	MAR	Ahmed Gnzar
24	MF	MAR	Khalid Baba
25	DF	MAR	Oussama Amine
26	MF	CIV	Banfa Sylla
29	DF	MAR	Souhail Yechou
40	DF	MAR	Tarik Asstati
77	DF	MAR	Bilal El Ouadghiri
95	MF	MAR	Alaeddine Bouchenna
—	DF	MAR	Abdessamad Choukri
—	MF	NGA	Egah Saviour
—	FW	MAR	Ayoub Lakhdar