Marrakech: SiltaNews – News Desk
Marking one of the most consequential governance decisions in the club’s modern history, Raja Club Athletic (RCA) has appointed Nawal El-Aidaoui as General Director of Raja SA, as the club accelerates its transition into a fully professional sports-company structure. The Board of Directors announced El-Aidaoui’s appointment on Monday, representing the final move in implementing the new corporate governance framework established following the game-changing partnership with Marsa Maroc.
El-Aidaoui brings 25 years of multifunctional experience to the position. She spent 14 years at P&G North West Africa, rotating through IT, marketing, sales, institutional communication, and public relations. She later founded her own strategic consulting firm that assisted international and Moroccan companies with structuring, development, and positioning challenges. Her Raja credentials run deep through years of frontline involvement. She commanded positions on the club’s executive committee in 2018 and 2022, spearheaded the women’s section launch, and drove the marketing and revenue development commission.
FIFA recently appointed El-Aidaoui as a member of the Women’s Interclub Competitions Commission for the 2025-2029 mandate. This international recognition reinforces Raja SA’s credibility on the global sports stage. The appointment follows Raja’s completion of transformational structural milestones. The club secured its capital increase to MAD 250 million ($25 million) and locked in majority participation from Ports4Impact, Marsa Maroc’s CSR association.
Under the partnership agreement inked in August 2025, Ports4Impact controls 60% of Raja SA while the Raja association maintains 40%. Marsa Maroc pumped in MAD 150 million ($15 million) over three years, with the Raja association transferring assets valued at MAD 100 million ($10 million), including brand rights and player contracts.
“This nomination is a key step in structuring Raja SA’s governance model,” said Driss Agoujjim, Chairman of Raja SA’s Board of Directors. “It ensures operational implementation of strategic directions set by the Board, within an exemplary management framework compliant with best practices.”
Jawad Ziyat, President of Raja Club Athletic Association, underlined the transformation’s completion. “This nomination caps the club’s transformation into a public limited company,” he stated. “We now have the management framework and executive leadership necessary to break with cycles of instability and structure the club’s revenues sustainably.”
El-Aidaoui outlined her ambitious vision for expanding Raja’s reach. “I take this responsibility with pride and commitment, determined to open new horizons for Raja, develop its sporting and economic prospects, and give it an international dimension worthy of its prestige, global influence, and exceptional history,” she declared.
The appointment comes as Raja continues clearing past financial obstacles. Also in August 2025, the club eliminated its transfer ban after paying over MAD 31 million ($3.1 million) to resolve 36 domestic and international disputes involving FIFA rulings, local complaints, warnings, and contract terminations. Raja SA operates under Law 30-09 governing club transformation into sports companies.
The structure targets professional management of sporting and commercial activities while maintaining the association’s ownership of strategic assets, including the academy in Bouskoura. Founded on March 20, 1949, by Moroccan nationalists in Casablanca’s Derb Sultan district as resistance against French colonial rule, Raja has captured 13 Botola titles, 9 Throne Cups, and 3 CAF Champions League crowns. The Green Eagles reached the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup final, cementing their continental legacy.
The new governance framework establishes a sharp separation between sporting governance, which stays under the Raja association, and business management, now directed by Raja SA under El-Aidaoui’s leadership. This corporate restructuring positions Raja to compete more effectively both domestically and continentally while ensuring sustainable financial management and professional governance standards.