Full name | Wydad Athletic Club نادي الوداد الرياضي |
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Nickname(s) | Wydad of Nation Kings of Titles |
Short name | WAC |
Founded | 8 May 1937 |
Ground | Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca, Morocco |
Capacity | 45,000 |
President | Said Naciri |
Head Coach | Hussein Amotta |
League | Botola |
2016–17 | 1st |
Website | Club website |
Wydad Athletic Club (abbreviated WAC) (Arabic: نادي الوداد الرياضي commonly known as Wydad Casablanca, also called Wydad al Ouma is a Moroccan sports club based in Casablanca, Morocco, best known for its football casablanca team. The team is well known in Africa by its Fans called 'Winners'. The rival team Raja Casablanca makes the derby between Raja and Wydad one of the most popular derbies in the world.
The first section of the Wydad Athletic Club ("WAC") to be created was the swimming section on May 8, 1937. The members of the first management committee of Wydad Casablanca team was Haj Mohamed Benjelloun (President), Maitre Mohamed Zarouk, Mohamed Ben Lahsan, Haj Mohamed Ben Mohamed Ben Lahsan Benjelloun, Ralph Botbol, Charles Benchetrit, Bienvenu, Lucien Bilikrinieu, Pierre André, Boravel, and Croné Vivirel.
Other sections where created for the casablanca team as time went by, such as tennis in 1938 and football, created by Haj Tounsi alias Père Jégo in 1939. Today, there are a total of fourteen sections, including Basketball, Handball, Boxing, Wrestling, Cycling, Badminton, Track and field, Waterpolo, and Hockey.
There are several versions of the story of the origin of the club's name, but the version found in Ahmed Lahrizi's book Wydad Volume 1 is the most widespread and the most plausible. According to the book, during the frequent meetings which led to the creation of the club, one of the founding members arrived late after watching the latest film of the legendary Egyptian actress and singer Oum Kaltoum, Wydad (in Arabic, "Wydad" means "Love"). This incident inspired the founders to give the name to the club.