Home team in the Club World Cup, Wydad has ‘the best fans in the world’ to surprise favorites

If Real Madrid has the talents of Vini Jr, Modric & Cia and Flamengo has the quartet of Gabigol, Pedro, Arrascaeta and Everton Ribeiro, Wydad Casablanca can boast of having an asset with which neither the Europeans nor the South -Americans count: the bleachers. The representative of Morocco, host country of the Club World Cup, is the only one who will play with thousands cheering him on. And definitely not just any support.

Wydad has a world-renowned group of ultras (as the organized ones are called). This is Winners, in English, a group that emerged in 2005 and stands out for its performances in stadiums. From the tiles to the corners, there isn’t an item that isn’t planned in detail to impress in games.

In addition to singing in unison, the fans perform choreographies governed by a kind of conductor. He stays on the ground, facing the bleachers, guiding the movements. This entire performance is completed with 3D mosaics — each fan lifts a plaque and all of them, together, form a drawing, while a thematic panel is erected in front of them, complementing the action. Not to mention the fireworks show using flares.

To get an idea of ​​the level of care, the mosaics are designed by software that reproduces the model of the stadium. Among the panels already used, there are images of the king and general Leonidas I, famous for leading the 300 of Sparta; and even the characters played by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the cinema classic Casablanca.

The Winners’ presentations are not just about pop culture. In 2019, in Wydad’s debut in the African Champions League, the goal bid annulled in the final of the previous edition – and which led to the interruption of the match, decreeing the loss of the title to Esperancé, from Tunisia. Behind, the banner with the words “One goal is all that is needed to prove that your corruption has no brakes” made the message to the African Football Confederation very clear.

Actions are concentrated on the north curve of the Mohammed V Stadium. In the World Cup, however, it will not be used. This Saturday, Wydad will face Al-Hilal, from Saudi Arabia, at Moulay Abdellah, in Rabat. If he passes, he will make the semifinal against Flamengo, on Tuesday, at Ibn Batouta, in Tangier.

Winners’ symbol is a Palestinian guerrilla. The name is a reference to the first Wydad fans, who would have participated in the resistance to the occupation of the French, who colonized part of the country between 1921 and 1956. It is true that this fight was more symbolic than in fact. Even so, it is part of a proud view that Moroccan society has of the club.

Greatest Moroccan champion (22 cups), Wydad was founded in 1937, in Casablanca. But the football team would only appear two years later. The initial goal was for local citizens to have access to the pool. At the time, natives’ access to clubs — created by and for French residents in the country — was denied.

In a short time, however, the team became highly competitive in the national league. And the success of a club with a Moroccan identity in the confrontation with others that represented the colonizer soon became a source of pride. The same happened with his great rival, the Raja. In its own way, a representation of resistance.

To this day, in a totally different context, the Wydad crowd continues to make them proud. Worldwide fame is guaranteed by the videos and images that circulate on the internet and even by awards for the best fans in the world in specialized vehicles. In 2022, the Ultras World page chose her as the one that stood out the most in the year.

It is impossible to believe that the support from the crowd will be enough to make Wydad repeat Raja’s feat at the 2013 World Cup, also in Morocco, and reach the final. But it is undeniable that the Moroccan club has a great asset.