The Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has reached an agreement with former Wydad Casablanca coach Walid Regragui to take over the reins of the national team, the “Atlas Lions”, after the departure of Vahid Halilhodzic, who was dismissed three months before the World Cup in Qatar, local media reported Monday.
“The Federation has reached a final agreement with Regragui on all material and technical aspects, as well as on the objectives to be achieved,” wrote the news website Alyaoum24. According to the specialized website Hesport, Regragui signed this weekend a three-year contract with the FRMF.
The official appointment of the new national coach is expected in the coming days, said a spokesman for the Federation, without further details. The choice of Walid Regragui, already widely commented on before the departure of Halilhodzic, is not a surprise. He “has already started contacts with some of the national team players,” Hesport said.
Born in Corbeil-Essonne, Walid Regragui, a 46-year-old French-Moroccan, has played for several French clubs (Toulouse, Ajaccio, Dijon, Grenoble) and was an international with the Atlas Lions.
In a particularly brilliant season, he won the African and Moroccan league titles with Wydad Casablanca, one of Morocco’s most successful clubs. He took over the management of Wydad Casablanca in August 2021 and announced his official departure earlier this month.
In Qatar, Morocco, drawn in Group F, will face Croatia, Belgium and Canada.