The program of the first part of the D1 of the group stage of the Excellence Cup ended with great matches and big surprises.
In life, everything is reinvented and modernized… including football. Codified in the United Kingdom at the end of the 19th century, this sport is constantly evolving. Today, the International Football Federation brings new regulations whenever the opportunity allows and also creates new competitions to make football even more dynamic, more attractive and above all more competitive. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation has also thought of contributing and creating a new competition likely to strengthen the attraction of national football, strong in recent years of great feats in all categories. This was the genesis of the work. Named “Excellence Cup”, the new format of the official competition organized under the aegis of the National Professional Football League (LNFP) has been adopted.
The kick-off was given on Tuesday. In the opening match, Olympique Dcheira caused a sensation by beating Hassania Agadir by a score of 2 goals to 0. Another resident created a huge surprise by overcoming AS FAR. It was Union Sportif Yacoub Mansour who got the better of the Militaires (2-1). In the other matches, Wydad negotiated the game well against Jeunesse Massira while Renaissance Sportive de Berkane strolled against Wydad de Fez (4-0).
Open to Botola Pro D1 and D2 clubs, the EC aims, among other things, to integrate players (U23) into the first team squad as well as to supervise talented players likely to be called up to the national Olympic and youth teams. This competition also facilitates a gradual recovery after the summer and winter breaks and during FIFA dates, the increase in the annual number of matches and the maintenance of the competition rhythm during the Botola break periods.
Bringing together 32 clubs (D1 and D2), the Excellence Cup will be played in two rounds.
During the 1st round (group stage), the clubs, divided into eight groups of four teams according to a distribution in accordance with the ranking of the sports season and a replacement of the relegated D2 clubs by the newly promoted clubs, will play two-way matches. The teams ranked 1st and 2nd in each group will qualify for the 2nd round (final phase), which will play the 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2 finals in two-way matches. The classification match and the final will follow. Regarding the ages of the players, clubs are required to register at least 10 players (U23) on the match sheet and a mandatory participation of at least 06 players (U23) throughout the duration of the match. In the event of suspension of an U23 player during a match, the quota of U23 players must respect the same principle by imputing the number of players sent off.
The programming of this competition will mainly take place during the periods of stoppage of the Botola Pro. Unless exceptional exemption from the LNFP and according to its free assessment of the circumstances, clubs are obliged to align the technical staff of their “senior” team.
This article is originally published on aujourdhui.ma
