ASFAR: the radiant face of women's football in Morocco
ASFAR, the Royal Armed Forces club is considered a shining face of Moroccan football.
It was in 1968 that ASFAR participated in their first African Champions League and in 1985, they became the first Moroccan club to take pride of winning the prestigious CAF competition. Thanks to their exploits in the local championship and the Throne Cup, the military club is considered one of the best clubs in the Cherifian kingdom.
History is about to be rewritten with the women's section. ASFAR will once again play a precursor by participating in the first edition of the TotalEnergies CAF Women's Champions League. Having dominated local competitions for many years thanks to their great interest and continued support for women's football, the fruits are ready to be picked.
The real debut of the women's team took place in 2001. ASFAR were therefore active at the league level until 2008, when they joined the elite in the first division. The late national manager Tria Zerol played a big role in the solidification of the team and make it one of the most important in the history of women's football in Morocco.
After reaching the goal of the climb, efforts intensified to form a strong team to confirm the presence on the podiums by bringing together the best players able to translate the goals set on the pitch.
The fruits of the substantive work and the club's strategy based on attention to training, have borne fruit with eight coronations in the Moroccan championship (12/13 - 13/14 - 15/16 - 16/17 - 17 / 18 - 18/19 - 19/20 - 20/21).
The club's brilliance in women's football was not limited to the championship as it also included the Precious Cup competition, in which the team was crowned 7 times (2013-2014- 2015-2016-2017-2018-2019). The Military also won the Morocco-United Arab Emirates Friendship Cup in its first edition in 2016 in Dubai.
The team was coached by the late Tria Zerol from the start until 2011. Muhammad Amin Alaioua and Khaled Kreishat also held the reins of the team until 2015, when Abdallah Haidamou was appointed head of technical staff to the team. A mission he leads to this day.
Many distinguished players have defended the jersey of the military club, for example goalkeeper Asiya Zuhair, Hoda Goujan, Nozha Ait Baba Halim, Ikram Boulazam. The current squad includes many names that continue to shine in the Moroccan and African women's football sky, such as Ibtissam Jraidi, Ghizlane Chebbak, Nouila Benzina and Fatima Tagnaout.