The stands of the Marrakech stadium are invaded by a red tide. That evening, the Winners, supporters of the Wydad Athletic Club, came in their thousands to defend the color of the Casablanca football team, during an African Champions League match played in December against Simba SC, a club Tanzanian. True to their reputation, the Moroccan fans impose their tempo in a supercharged atmosphere, waving smoke bombs and flags, singing together to the rhythm of the percussion without ever lowering the decibels.
Named the best supporters in the world in 2022 by the specialist network Ultras World, the Winners are known for their showmanship, just as much as their rival brothers, the supporters of Raja (Green Boys and Ultras Eagles), the other team from the metropolis Moroccan. The Casablanca derby fascinates, less for the performances on the field than for these kings of the stands who compete in creativity. “The show is themsummarizes a journalist and supporter of the city on condition of anonymity. They are stronger than the players: the match can be mediocre, they never disappoint. It is to the ultras that our national championship owes its letters of nobility. »
The latter are distinguished by their spectacular tifos, these visual animations deployed in the stands to highlight the club or send a message to the opponent. Dragon Ball, Game of Thrones… the ultras of Wydad multiply references to pop culture, while those of Raja sometimes surprise with their literary-inspired paintings. Some caused a sensation, like their “room 101” – the torture chamber in the novel 1984 by George Orwell –, or their portrait of Alex, the ultra-violent hero ofClockwork Orange.
“The team is our joy, our oxygen”
On the musical side, the two groups also stand out for their original songs included in the repertoire of the country’s most popular hits. “The Voice of Magana [groupe de musique des ultras du Raja] a song comes out and, two weeks later, it is sung by heart in stadiums, but also schools, universities, factories! “, testifies Mohamed Jamali, founder and former leader of the Ultras Eagles.
This shows the fervor aroused by the two Casablanca clubs and reflected in the numerous frescoes on the walls of the white city. In the old medina, stronghold of Wydad, the streets are stained with red. Like all its inhabitants, Ayman Bourakba, 21, presents himself as a “wydadi”. “This club is everything in my life”, confides the young fisherman who never misses a match and participates in the making of tifos. Behind his fruit stall, Achraf, 30, does not have words strong enough to express his excessive passion. “The Winners, we are a family, he said. We do everything for the team, because it is our joy, our oxygen. » The club, founded in 1937, is today going through some turbulence, while its president Saïd Naciri was placed in pre-trial detention on Friday December 22, accused of drug trafficking.
Four kilometers away, the popular district of Derb Sultan, predominantly green, is the cradle of Raja created in 1949 by a group of trade unionists and independence activists. “Here, everyone is rajaoui, reports Oussama Badr, 28, on the terrace of a café. The sense of sacrifice, the passion, the atmosphere… they are the best supporters, always 100%! “, defends this young unemployed man who also confides: “A Raja match is the only thing that makes me happy. »
The rivalry comes to a head when the two teams meet at home. In the stands of the Mohammed-V stadium (currently closed for work), a fiery derby is played between the curve (bend) north, gathering place of the Winners, and the curve south, that of the ultras of Raja.
Voice of social protest
Their reputation is, however, tarnished by recurring clashes in or outside the stadiums. In 2016, they were banned from any activity following the death of two supporters in Casablanca. But without them, the stadiums were empty. Two years later, the authorities lifted the ban, while maintaining close surveillance. “The Moroccan ultras are not hooligans, underlines sociologist Abderrahim Bourkia, author of the book Ultras in the city (2018). But they do not form a homogeneous group either. While some express themselves through songs, others release their frustrations through violence. »
These groups rather claim to have an ultra-Mediterranean culture, as it appeared in Italy before reaching the Maghreb. First Tunisia, then Morocco in 2005, the year of birth of the Green Boys and the Winners. The movement then spread to all cities in the kingdom. “The spectacular aspect is the very essence of this ultra culture, built on performance, one-upmanship, the rage to appear, in an organized and festive way,” analyzes Karima Ziamari, sociolinguist at the University of Meknes, who is interested in the speeches of Moroccan ultras.
Beyond sporting issues, they are also seen as spokespersons for social protest. Because, “their songs have always expressed hostility towards certain symbols of power, starting with the police or club leaders, and the poetics of injustice and humiliation are central”, continues Ms. Ziamara. In Casablanca, the Winners claim to be spokespersons forUmmah (the Nation), while the Rajaouis define themselves as ” the people’s voice “, “always on the side of the oppressed, the excluded, the deprived, reports Mohamed Jamali. This is our mentality, at the origin of the founding of the club and transmitted through the generations. »
In 2011, during the February 20 Movement, Raja supporters sang: “The Southern Bend hates the government. (…) They fill their wallets with the money of the poor. » “This is the first time that an entire song challenged the government, underlines Abderrahim Bourkia. Subsequently, the political field was increasingly used as a field of competition between rival groups. » In 2012, Liberta, of Winners, called for “clash the government”.
Monarchists
In 2018, the day after the Hirak du Rif – a heavily repressed protest movement which shook northern Morocco in 2016-2017 –, F’bladi delmouni (“oppressed in my country”), whose words relate the despair of a disillusioned youth, made an impression. The song, supported by the Eagles and translated into 11 languages, enjoyed viral success and attracted media attention. “The ultras then appeared as pressure groups, standard bearers of social concerns, even if they always were,” continues Mr. Bourkia. Without ever being revolutionary or criticizing the royal institution: “They are monarchists. “Our King is Mohammed VI, the others are all thieves”, they say. »
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In recent weeks, Moroccan stadiums have also been sounding boards for the strong popular mobilization of support for Gaza which has crossed the country since the start of the Israeli offensive. If the famous Rajaoui Falestini has been sung in stadiums since 2019, “every ultra group has composed a song for Palestine since October”, notes Karima Ziamari. As Land of resistance, Winners’ last title.
The ultras, however, have few political activists strictly speaking, and “political speeches above all reflect the culture of conscious leaders followed by the mass of supporters who have pledged allegiance to the group”, tempers sports journalist Hamza Hachlaf. Ultra Moroccan supporterism must above all be perceived as a “social experience of belonging to a group” which, according to him, goes beyond the passion for football: “Some claim to be members of an ultra group rather than supporters of such a club. » For young people lacking prospects or marginalized, this 12e player from the stands fills a void. “The group offers them a place, an identity, sometimes a meaning to existence. »