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IR Tanger

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IR Tanger
اتحاد طنجة
Full nameIttihad Riadi de Tanger
الاتحاد الرياضي لطنجة
Nickname(s)Faris Al Boughaz' (team)
Hercules (supporters)
Short nameIRT
Founded1936; 88 years ago (1936)
as Unión Deportiva España de Tánger
officially: 1944; 80 years ago (1944)
GroundIbn Batouta Stadium
Capacity65,000[1]
ChairmanMohammed Cherkaoui
ManagerHilal Et-Tair
LeagueBotola
2023–2412th of 16
Websitehttp://irtfoot.ma/
Current season

Ittihad Riadi Tanger (Arabic: الاتحاد الرياضي لطنجة, lit.'Sports Union of Tangier'),[2] often shortened to IR Tanger or the abbreviation IRT, is a Moroccan football club based in Tangier, that competes in Botola, Morocco's top professional football league.[3]

The club was founded in 1936 as Unión Deportiva España de Tánger (UDET); After the independence of Morocco in 1956, the club changed was renamed to Unión Deportiva de Tánger (UDT). In 1983, several local football clubs were merged into UDT, and Ittihad Riadi Tanger was formed.

IR Tanger's home games are hosted at Ibn Batouta Stadium. In the past, Stade de Marchan was their home stadium until its demolition.

IR Tanger has a large fan base in northern Morocco, particularly in the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region.

History

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IR Tangier back in the late 1980s and 1990s.

IR Tanger was created by the fusion of several clubs in 1944. In the early 1990s, IR Tangier became one of the most successful clubs in the Botola. However, the club failing to win any trophies, although they came close in the 1989–90 season when they finished as runners-up. The 1989 season was considered by many to be their best season, as the team was victorious over many other notable Botola clubs, defeating Raja Casablanca 3-1 and Maghreb de Fès 3–0.

During the late 1990s, IR Tanger failed to achieve anything besides maintaining itself in the Botola. The club ended up getting relegated twice before the early 2000s, finishing unsuccessfully during the 1995–96 and 1997–98 seasons.

In July 2000, the club hired Coach Omar Raiss. He oversaw the improvement in the club's performance during the 2000–01 season, during which they scored 50 goals. Because of their performance, the club received a promotion. Their performance declined, however, with their only notable achievement in the early 2000s being a Throne Cup they won during the semi-final in the 2005–06 season. The following season became IR Tanger's last in the Botola for the next few years. During this time, the club's results were poor, and they would very often finish unsuccessfully.

During later years, after IR Tanger set up a new directive committee, it nearly made it back to the Botola during the 2013–14 season. With a series of transfers and the arrival of Coach Mohamed Amine Benhachem, the team cruised through the 2014–15 season, losing only twice and finishing first by a five-point lead.

During the 2015–16 season, the team made a comeback to the Botola Pro. The club contracted with many local and foreign players, finishing third in their first season and qualifying for the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup for the first time.

IR Tangiers team in 2015–16 Season

Supporters and rivalries

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In 2003, the club's ultras, called Ultras Tanger, was founded; this group no longer exists and has instead been replaced by the ultras group named Ultras Hercules that was founded in 2007.

IR Tanger has a rivalry with Moghreb Tétouan, which belongs to the neighboring city, Tétouan.

Crest and shirt

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The official crest was designed by the club's founders. It depicts the full name of the club and the year it was founded. The blue lining represents the club's location in northern Morocco.

The official home shirts are similar to the crest, colored blue and white. IR Tanger's traditional away colors change every season but are usually based on light blue with a sponsor's logo on the top.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

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Stadium

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Main article: Ibn Batouta Stadium

The club hosted their home matches in the Stade de Marchan, a stadium with a capacity of 15,000 seats, until it was demolished. The Stade de Marchan hosted several notable matches like the one between IR Tanger vs. Wydad Casablanca during the 1989–90 season. In 2011 the club moved to the then-new Ibn Batouta Stadium, which has a capacity of 65,000 (that will be increased to a maximum of 92,000 seats).

Stadium Period
Stade de Marchan 1983–2011
Ibn Batouta Stadium 2012–present
Ibn Batouta Stadium

Season results

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Main article: List of IR Tanger seasons

League and cup

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Season League Top goalscorer Moroccan Cup
Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Name League
2015–16 1st 3rd 30 14 8 8 36 23 50 Ivory Coast Hervé Guy 7 Quarter-finals
2016–17 1st 5th 30 12 9 9 33 25 45 Morocco Ahmed Hammoudan 6 Semi-finals
2017–18 1st 1st 30 14 10 6 34 23 52 Morocco Mehdi Naghmi 13 Round of 16
2018–19 1st 5th 30 9 13 8 27 30 40 Morocco Mehdi Naghmi 9 Round of 16
2019–20 1st 14th 30 7 11 12 20 36 32 Morocco Sofian El Moudane 4 Quarter-finals
2020–21 1st 8th 30 10 6 14 29 36 36 Gabon Axel Méyé 12 Round of 16
2021–22 1st 13th 30 8 9 13 31 41 33 Gabon Axel Méyé 12 Round of 16
2022–23 1st 14th 30 8 5 17 23 39 29 Morocco Sofian El Moudane 5 Round of 16
2023–24 1st 12th 30 7 12 11 29 38 33 Morocco Ismail Khafi 13 Round of 32

African competitions

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Year Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate Q
2017 CAF Confederation Cup PR Niger AS Douanes 1–0 2–1 3–1
1R Guinea AS Kaloum 3–0 0–1 3–1
PO Guinea Horoya AC 3–2 0–2 3–4
2018–19 CAF Champions League PR Chad Elect-Sport FC 1–0 0–0 1–0
1R Algeria JS Saoura 1–0 0–2 1–2
2018–19 CAF Confederation Cup PO Egypt Zamalek SC 0–0 1–3 1–3

Arab competition

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Year Competition Round Opponent Score Position Q
2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup PR Bahrain Riffa SC 0–2 2nd
Iraq Al-Zawraa SC 3–0
Somalia Horseed FC 1–6
Notes
  • PR: Preliminary round
  • 1R: First round
  • PO: Play-off round

Honours

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Type Competition Titles Winning Seasons Runners-up
Domestic Botola 1 2017–18 1989–90
Botola 2 2 2000–01, 2014–15 1986–87, 1996–97,

Players

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Current squad

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As of 16 October 2024[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF Morocco MAR Youssef Chaina
4 DF Morocco MAR Mohamed Saoud
6 MF Morocco MAR Nouaman Aarab (captain)
8 MF Morocco MAR Faouzi Abdelmottalib
12 GK Morocco MAR Rayan Azouagh
13 DF Morocco MAR Oussama Al Aiz
15 MF Morocco MAR Ayoub Jarfi (vice-captain)
16 MF Morocco MAR Ahmed Chentouf (3rd-captain)
17 MF Morocco MAR Abdelhamid Maâli
18 FW Morocco MAR Hamza El Wasti
19 FW Morocco MAR Jawad Ghabra
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF Morocco MAR Zakaria Kiani
23 DF Morocco MAR Anass Lamrabat
24 DF Morocco MAR Akram El Wahabi
26 GK Morocco MAR Yassin El Hachloufi
27 FW Morocco MAR Soulaimane Ait Dani
30 FW Morocco MAR Ali El Harrak
31 DF Algeria ALG Walid Bencherifa
33 MF Morocco MAR Salaheddine Cheffani
35 FW Morocco MAR Mohammed Moujahid
72 GK Morocco MAR Badreddine Benachour
73 GK Morocco MAR Youssef Laghzal

Reserve team and Youth Academy

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
38 MF Morocco MAR Noureddine Benfakir
45 MF Morocco MAR Marwane Lahbouri
46 DF Morocco MAR Salmane Ashiban
No. Pos. Nation Player
47 DF Morocco MAR Omar Barrak Belakhdar
50 MF Morocco MAR Youssef Ezzarradi

Former players

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Personnel

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Current technical staff

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Position Name
First team head coach Morocco Hilal Et-tair
Assistant coach Morocco Abdelouahed Benkacem
Goalkeeping coach Morocco Mohammed Bestara
Fitness coach Morocco Rachid Blej
Performance analyst Morocco Ahmed Zekhnini
Club doctor Morocco Houssine Azizi
Physiotherapist Morocco Nacereddine Jabouri
Healer Morocco Abdelmonhem Nafie
Delegate Morocco Ali Haddou
Hope's team coach Morocco Khalid Bahid
Hope's team assistant coach Morocco Youssef Sekour
Hope's Team Fitness coach Morocco Ahmed Azmi
Formation center manager Morocco Abdelhakim Ben Saddik

Source:[5][6]

Managers

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Management

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Board of directors

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Position Name
President Mohammed Cherkaoui
Managing Director Mohamed Hmami
First Vice President Mohamed Boulaich
Second Vice President Abdelhanin Gharafi
Third Vice President Rachid El Hassani
Fourth Vice President Anass Lamrabat
General Secretary Abdellah El Mrabet Dajidi
Vice General Secretary Issam El Ghachi
Treasurer Redouan Bouhdid
Vice Treasurer Said Zekri

Source:[7][8]

Presidents

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  • Abdeslam Arbaine
  • Hassan Bouhrize
  • Abdelhak Bakhat (2009)
  • Adil Defouf (–2012)
  • Abdelhamid Aberchane (2013–21)
  • Mohamed Ahagan (2021–22)
  • Mohammed Cherkaoui (2023–24)
  • Nassrallah El Guartit (2024–)

Partnerships

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Stade Ibn Batouta (Grand Stade de Tanger)". StadiumDB.com. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  2. ^ "The blue northern club of Tangiers". Archived from the original on 20 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Ittihad Tanger". www.goalzz.com. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  4. ^ "Ittihad Riadhi de Tanger: Squad; 2024/2025". soccerway. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  5. ^ "الإطار الوطني هلال الطير مدربا لاتــحــاد طــنــجــة" [The national manager, Hilal Ettair, coach of Ittihad Tanger]. 21 January 2023.
  6. ^ "بـــلاغ" [announcement]. 17 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Botola: Mohamed Cherkaoui, un nouveau président au chevet de l'R Tanger" [Botola: Mohamed Cherkaoui, a new president at the bedside of IR Tanger]. sport.le360.ma. 16 January 2023.
  8. ^ "لائحة المكتب المديري لفريق اتحاد طنجة لكرة القدم ولجانه" [Regulations of the managerial office of the Ittihad Tanger Football Association team and its committees]. Ittihad Riadi De Tanger. 19 May 2023.
  9. ^ "فريق اتحاد طنجة يوقع اتفاقية شراكة وتعاون مع فريق شباب بلوزداد الجزائري" [Ittihad Tangiers signs a partnership and cooperation agreement with the Algerian club Chaba Belouizdad] (in Arabic). tanjaelkobra.com. 22 January 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  10. ^ "وفد من فريق اتحاد طنجة يزور مدينة برشلونة لتوقيع اتفاقية شراكة مع نادي اسبانيول" [A delegation from Ittihad Tanger visits Barcelona to sign a partnership agreement with Espanyol] (in Arabic). IR Tanger. 20 September 2018. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  11. ^ "El C.D. Leganés firma un acuerdo de colaboración con el Ittihad de Tanger" [El C.D. Leganés firma un acuerdo de colaboración con el Ittihad de Tanger] (in Spanish). CD Leganés. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
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