Raja begin Botola campaign with victory over Renaissance Zemamra

Raja Club Athletic made a winning start to their 2026-27 Botola Pro campaign with a 1-0 victory over Renaissance Zemamra at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca on Saturday.

Othmane Chraibi scored the only goal of the match in the 27th minute as the Green Eagles secured three points in their first league appearance of the season.

Raja created opportunities to increase their advantage after taking the lead, while Zemamra pushed for an equaliser, but neither side could find another goal before the final whistle.

Chraibi gives Raja early advantage

Raja made their first league appearance of the new campaign count when Chraibi broke the deadlock midway through the first half.

The 23-year-old midfielder’s strike gave coach Paco Jemez’s side a narrow advantage and also opened his scoring account for the season.

Raja continued to look for a second goal, but Zemamra remained in the contest and threatened to level the match.

The visitors were unable to convert their opportunities, however, allowing Raja to protect their lead and claim victory.

Raja finally enter the Botola season

Although the fixture was officially part of Matchday 2, it was Raja’s first league match of the campaign after their opening fixture against AS FAR was postponed.

The National Professional Football League announced the postponement before the start of the season, with reports linking the decision to international commitments involving several AS FAR players. A new date for the fixture has not yet been confirmed.

Raja went into the match with a 20-player squad that included a number of new arrivals, although Jordan international Mohamed Abu Zraiq, known as Sharara, was unavailable because of international duty.

Chraibi, who joined Raja in July 2025 and is contracted to the Casablanca club until June 2027, now has his first goal of the new Botola campaign.

Zemamra suffer second successive defeat

The result leaves Raja sixth in the early standings with three points, although they still have their postponed match against AS FAR to play.

For Renaissance Zemamra, the defeat represents another difficult result after they began the season with a 2-1 loss away to defending champions Maghreb de Fes.

They remain without a point after two matches.

Raja will now look to build on their winning start as they target a strong challenge near the top of Moroccan football, while their rearranged meeting with AS FAR remains an important fixture on the early-season schedule.