Raja Casablanca

Foundation and first steps (1949–1956)

Raja Club Athletic (abbreviated to Raja CA or RCA) was founded by the Moroccan resistance and more particularly by the honorary president Moulay Sassi Ben Ahmed El Alaoui Aboudarka and the heads of the Moroccan unions, in particular the first president of the Moroccan Workers' Union, Mahjoub Ben Seddik, as well as the former president of the Union of Arab Lawyers and ex-prime minister Mohamed Maâti Bouabid.

Boujemaa Kadri took charge of the administrative organization, necessary for the foundation of Raja CA. Other personalities behind the club's creation included Tibari, Salah Medkouri, Mustapha Chemseddine, Karim Hajjaj, Si Ahmed Skalli Haddaoui, Choukri, Daoudi, Hachmi Nejjar, Mohamed Charfaoui, Laachfoubi El Bouazzaoui, Abdelkader Jalal, Naoui, and some other Moroccan intellectuals and resistance fighters who met often at a café named Al Watan (The homeland in English), owned at the time by Hmidou El Watani in Derb Sultan.

The ban on entrusting the presidency of the club to a Moroccan is circumvented by leaving the chair for six months to Ben Abadji Hejji, a Muslim of Algerian origin who had the French nationality. The French authorities, are thus forced to accept that. After several attempts to find a name for the club, a draw between the names of Raja and Fath, allowed the name Raja, picked three consecutive times, to be chosen.

Early years (1956–1973)

After the independence of Morocco in 1956, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation is created and therefore replaces one of the twenty-two leagues of the French Football Federation during the time of the French Protectorate which was called Ligue du Maroc de Football. In their first season, Raja successfully defeated the Sports Union of Ben Ahmed 4–1, Ennasr of Casablanca 2–0 and finally Olympique Ouezzane 7–0. They were thus the first team to enter the first division. Kacem Kacemi then retired from his coaching position for personal reasons. Raja lost their first match 2–0 in the 1956–57 Botola against Fath Union Sport, but they managed to beat SC Roches Noires in the next leg with the same score. The team finished the season in tenth, barely avoiding relegation. The following year, thanks to the arrival of Affani Mohamed Ben Lahcen known as Père Jégo, the club finished fourth.

In the 1964–1965 season, the club finished twelfth and almost got relegated, but they still managed to reach the final of the Throne Cup for the first time in its history, where they faced KAC Marrakech on 13 June 1965 at the Stade Mohammed V. KACM won the match 3–1. It was the third consecutive coronation of the Merrakchis in the competition, and the first defeat in the final for Raja. During this season, the Green Eagles defeated Wydad in the quarterfinals with a score of two to one. The team finished the 1966–1967 season in third place in the championship with 65 points. Houmane Jarir finished as the top scorer with 18 goals.

On 14 July 1968, the final of the Throne Cup took place, between Raja and Racing de Casablanca. RAC won the title for the first time in its history and the Eagles, still unable to claim their first title, lost 1–0.

Three cups in a decade (1973–1982)

The 1974 Throne Cup final opposed the semi-final winners, Raja who beat Wydad AC on penalties, against the Maghreb de Fès. During a match played in the Stade Mohammed V on 28 July 1974, Raja led by coach Mohammed Tibari, wins the cup against MAS thanks to the goal of El Arabi 1–0. The Green Eagles won this competition for the first time and also won the first title in their history.

On 17 July 1977, Raja CA moved to Rabat to face Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi at the Stade du FUS on behalf of the Throne Cup final. The Greens won the match 1–0 on a penalty from Abdellatif Beggar and therefore won the competition for the second time.

On 14 March 1982 at the Stade Roches Noires in Casablanca, the final of the Throne Cup was played between Raja and the KAC Kénitra. In 1977, Raja won its third title in the competition after a goal by Abdellatif Beggar. This season will also witness the first appearance of Raja on the African scene, more precisely in the 1983 African Cup Winners' Cup, unexperienced Raja was eliminated in the first round.

First titles in Africa and Morocco (1982–1995)

In 1982–1983, reached the final of the Throne Cup for the second time in a row, this time against the Olympique de Casablanca. The final took place on 21 August 1983 at the Stade Mohamed V, Raja loses the title this time on penalties (4–5), after the match ended in a draw 1–1. Raja finished second in the 1985–1986 championship, behind his rival Wydad AC, who edged him 2 points on the last day. Furthermore, he was eliminated in the cup by the future champion, AS Far in the round of 16 2–0.