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Mohammed V Stadium

ملعب محمد الخامس
The stadium on a matchday
Former names	Stade Marcel Cerdan (1955–1956) Stade d'Honneur (1956–1981)
Location	Rue al-Azrak Ahmed, Maârif, Casablanca, Morocco
Owner	The City of Casablanca
Capacity	45,891
Record attendance	110,000 Casablanca derby (1997) Morocco vs Ghana (1997) Morocco v Argentina
Field size	105 m × 68 m
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	6 March 1955
Renovated	1981, 2000, 2007, July 2015
Tenants
Raja Casablanca (1955–present) Wydad Casablanca (1955–present) Morocco national football team

The Mohammed V Stadium (Arabic: ملعب محمد الخامس, French: Stade Mohammed V) is a multi-purpose stadium which is part of the Mohammed V Athletic Complex (المركب الرياضي محمد الخامس) which is named after King Mohammed V and situated at the heart of Casablanca, Morocco, in the western part of the Maârif neighborhood. The stadium has a seating capacity of 45,891, and is the oldest football stadium in Morocco.

It primarily hosts association football matches, serving as the home ground of the Morocco national football team and local rival football clubs Wydad AC and Raja CA. In 1997, the stadium set a record of attendance of 110,000 during the Casablanca football derby and a match between the Moroccan national team against Ghana. The same record attendance was repeated during Morocco's match against Argentina in 2004.

History

On March 6, 1955, the stadium was inaugurated under the name Stade Marcel Cerdan in honour of the French boxer, with a capacity of 30,000. The following year, after the independence of Morocco, it took the name of Stade d'Honneur. This stadium witnessed Morocco qualify for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, which was their first ever World Cup.

At the end of the 1970s, in preparation for the 1983 Mediterranean Games which were held in Casablanca, the stadium was closed for a major renovation; with an increase of the seating capacity, installation of an electronic scoreboard and construction of a 12,000-capacity indoor gymnasium and a 3,000-capacity Olympic-sized swimming pool around the stadium. It reopened in 1981 under its current name, Stade Mohammed V.

Today, the complex has the stadium itself, the gymnasium, the swimming pool, a 650 m media centre, a conference room, a meeting room, a care centre, and an anti-doping centre.

Stade Mohammed V is located right in the centre of Casablanca. The international airport in Casablanca, also named after Mohammed V, is 25 kilometres from the stadium and the Casa-Voyageurs rail station is 5 kilometres from the stadium. The stadium has a parking lot with a capacity of 1,000 cars.

In the 2006–07 season, the stadium was renovated again with the inclusion of a semi-artificial lawn of a high standard. It reopened in April 2007.

A reform agreement was signed in 2015 between the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Royal Moroccan Football Federation, the Casablanca City Council and the Ministry of the Interior, allocating a budget of 220 million Moroccan dirhams.

This amount was mainly allocated to rehabilitate the stadium to meet international standards, such as the quality of the chairs, grass and other equipment of the other facilities, including the electronic clock, clothing stores, rest areas, the press platform and the corridors, in addition to repairs in its surroundings.

Currently, Mohammed V Stadium is built on an area of 12 hectares (12,262 square metres), and is considered a masterpiece of Moroccan sports, as it accommodates about 80,000 spectators and includes a large sports hall containing 12,000 seats, and includes facilities for many sports, such as basketball, handball, volleyball, gymnastics, and boxing, and an Olympic swimming pool.

In July, it was announced that the Mohammed-V Stadium was among the six stadiums which would benefit from a rehabilitation program with a view to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. This vast project which will be carried out by SONARGES includes the removal of the athletics track and an extension of the stands in order to bring it into compliance with FIFA standards.

Mohammed V Stadium is set to make history for hosting the first-ever African Football League final.

On 1 November 2023, Abdel Latif Naciri, Vice President of the Casablanca Community Council, confirmed that Mohammed V Stadium will undergo a rehabilitation process immediately after the end of the African League competitions.

Usage

Matches

Date	Team #1	Result	Team #2	Competition
6 October 1985	Morocco	3–0	Libya	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 October 1993		1–0	Zambia	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
28 April 2004		0–1	Argentina	Friendly
29 March 2022		4–1	DR Congo	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

International events

The stadium hosted the following international events:

• 1983 Mediterranean Games
• 1983 Palestine Cup of Nations for Youth
• 1988 African Cup of Nations final
• 1998 CAF Super Cup
• 2000 CAF Super Cup
• 2015 African Amateur Boxing Championships
• 2017 CAF Champions League Final
• 2018 CAF Super Cup
• 2018 African Nations Championship Final
• 2021 CAF Champions League Final
• 2022 CAF Champions League Final
• 2023 CAF Champions League final Second leg
• 2023 African Football League final first leg

Incident

• On 21 March 2016, Two people were killed in a fight among Raja CA fans during a match against Chabab Rif Al Hoceima.
• On 29 April 2023, A 29 year old woman died near the stadium during the 2022–23 CAF Champions League quarter-final between Raja CA and Al Ahly SC.

See also

• List of African stadiums by capacity
• List of football stadiums in Morocco
• Lists of stadiums

References

1. "세계의 주요 경기장 | MOROCCO (MAROC)" [Major Stadiums of the World | MOROCCO (MAROC)]. Daum Cafe (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 January 2022.
2. Panja, Tariq (16 January 2018). "Morocco Wants to Host the World Cup. Just Don't Ask for Any Details". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
3. Hatim, Yahia (19 February 2020). "Morocco Submits Bid to Host CAF Club Competitions Finals". Morocco World News. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
4. "Stade Mohammed V". Stadium Database. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
5. ^ "Stade Mohammed V". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
6. "ملعب محمد الخامس.. تاريخ "إصلاح الإصلاح"". SNRTnews (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-09-22.
7. mourid, alakhbar (2022-05-03). "قصة "دونور" من ملعب "مارسيل سيردان" إلى "ستاد دونور" إلى مركب "محمد الخامس"". الأخبار جريدة إلكترونية مغربية مستقلة (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-09-22.
8. "ملعب محمد الخامس.. صرح شاهد على أمجاد الكرة المغربية". العين الإخبارية (in Arabic). 2022-05-29. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
9. "Renovation of the Casablanca stadium. Why is Sonarges in "Honor"?". www.maroc-hebdo.press.ma (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-03.
10. "Le stade Mohammed-V de Casablanca fermera ses portes pour "rénovations" durant la saison prochaine". Telquel.ma (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-03.
11. "Casablanca's iconic Stade Mohamed V ready to create historic new African Football League chapter as it hosts tournament's first final: Wydad and Mamelodi Sundowns". CAF. 2023-02-11. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
12. "These are the changes to the Donor and Moulay Rachid stadiums". Hespress - هسبريس جريدة إلكترونية مغربية (in Arabic). 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
13. "Casablanca 1983". 70 Years Mediterranean Games. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
14. "Palestine Cup for Youth 1983". RSSSF. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
15. "African Nations Cup 1988 - Final Tournament Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
16. "السوبر الأفريقي - الرجاء سيء الحظ أمام التونسيين وذكرى 98 تطارده | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
17. "African Club Competitions 1997". RSSSF. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
18. "African Club Competitions 1999". RSSSF. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
19. "Wydad Casablanca na African Champion!". BBC News Pidgin. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
20. "African Club Competitions 2017". RSSSF. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
21. "Wydad beat Mazembe to win CAF Super Cup". ESPN.com. 2018-02-24. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
22. Kasraoui, Safaa. "Countdown to African Nations Championship 2018 Begins". Morocco World News.
23. "It's Nigeria against Morocco in fifth CHAN final | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
24. "Kaizer Chiefs stuck in Morocco after losing to Al Ahly in the Caf Champions League final | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
25. Dumpis, Toms. "South Africa's Kaizer Chiefs Fly to Morocco for CAF Champions League". Morocco World News.
26. Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Casablanca: The theater of dreams for the 2021-22 TotalEnergies Champions League final | Total CAF Champions League 2022/23". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
27. "Morocco to host 2022 Caf Champions League final | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
28. Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "African football royalty unites in Casablanca for one last dance in the TotalEnergies CAF CL final | Total CAF Champions League 2022/23". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
29. "Casablanca's iconic Stade Mohamed V ready to create historic new African Football League chapter as it hosts tournament's first final: Wydad and Mamelodi Sundowns". CAF. 2023-02-11. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
30. "Fans die after fighting in Morocco". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
31. "Two dead and 49 injured after violent clashes during Raja Casablanca match". The Guardian. Associated Press. 2016-03-20. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
32. "29-year-old woman dies near stadium during Raja and Al-Ahly game due to a heartache". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
33. "Fan dies as crowd trouble mars two CAF Champions League quarter finals". The Guardian. 2023-04-30. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-30.

External links

• Stadium profile and photos at World Stadiums
• Stadium profile and photos at Daum Cafe
• Stadium profile and photos at Fussball Tempel

33°34′58″N 7°38′49″W / 33.58278°N 7.64694°W / 33.58278; -7.64694

• Sports venues completed in 1955
• Football venues in Morocco
• Athletics (track and field) venues in Morocco
• National stadiums
• Sports venues in Casablanca
• Wydad AC
• Raja CA
• 1955 establishments in Morocco
• Venues of the African Games
• 20th-century architecture in Morocco