IR Tangier
Football club based in Tangier, Morocco
Football club
IR Tanger
Full nameIttihad Riadi de Tanger
NicknamesFaris Al Boughaz (team)
Hercules (supporters)
Short nameIRT
Founded1957; 69 years ago (1957)
GroundIbn Batouta Stadium
Capacity75,000
ChairmanNassrallah El Guartit
ManagerHilal Et-Tair
LeagueBotola Pro
2024–25Botola Pro, 10th of 16
Websiteirtfoot.ma
Current season

Ittihad Riadi Tanger (Arabic: الاتحاد الرياضي لطنجة; lit. 'Sports Union of Tangier'),[1] often shortened to IR Tanger or the abbreviation IRT, is a Moroccan football club based in Tangier. It competes in the Botola Pro, Morocco's top professional football league.[2]

Following the independence of Morocco in 1956, the club was officially founded in 1957 under the name Unión Deportiva de Tánger (UDT). In 1983, several local football clubs were merged into UDT, resulting in the formation of Ittihad Riadi Tanger.

IR Tanger's home games are hosted at Ibn Batouta Stadium. In the past, Stade de Marchan was their home stadium until its demolition.

IR Tanger has a large fan base in northern Morocco, particularly in the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region.

History

IR Tangier back in the late 1980s and 1990s.

IR Tanger was created by the fusion of several clubs in 1944. In the early 1990s, IR Tangier became one of the most successful clubs in the Botola. However, the club failed to win any trophies, although they came close in the 1989–90 season when they finished as runners-up. The 1989 season was considered by many to be their best season, as the team was victorious over many other notable Botola clubs, defeating Raja Casablanca 3-1 and Maghreb de Fès 3–0.

During the late 1990s, IR Tanger failed to achieve anything besides maintaining itself in the Botola. The club ended up getting relegated twice before the early 2000s, finishing unsuccessfully during the 1995–96 and 1997–98 seasons.

In July 2000, the club hired Coach Omar Raiss. He oversaw the improvement in the club's performance during the 2000–01 season, during which they scored 50 goals. Because of their performance, the club received a promotion. Their performance declined, however, with their only notable achievement in the early 2000s being a Throne Cup they won during the semi-final in the 2005–06 season. The following season became IR Tanger's last in the Botola for the next few years. During this time, the club's results were poor, and they would very often finish unsuccessfully.

During later years, after IR Tanger set up a new directive committee, it nearly made it back to the Botola during the 2013–14 season. With a series of transfers and the arrival of Coach Mohamed Amine Benhachem, the team cruised through the 2014–15 season, losing only twice and finishing first by a five-point lead.

During the 2015–16 season, the team made a comeback to the Botola Pro. The club contracted with many local and foreign players, finishing third in their first season and qualifying for the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup for the first time.

IR Tangiers team in 2015–16 Season

Supporters and rivalries

In 2003, the club's ultras, called Ultras Tanger, was founded; this group no longer exists and has instead been replaced by the ultras group named Ultras Hercules that was founded in 2007.

IR Tanger has a rivalry with Moghreb Tétouan, which belongs to the neighboring city, Tétouan.

Crest and shirt

The official crest was designed by the club's founders. It depicts the full name of the club and the year it was founded. The blue lining represents the club's location in northern Morocco.

The official home shirts are similar to the crest, colored blue and white. IR Tanger's traditional away colors change every season but are usually based on light blue with a sponsor's logo on the top.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Stadium

The club hosted their home matches in the Stade de Marchan, a stadium with a capacity of 15,000 seats, until it was demolished. The Stade de Marchan hosted several notable matches like the one between IR Tanger vs. Wydad Casablanca during the 1989–90 season. In 2011 the club moved to the then-new Ibn Batouta Stadium, which has a capacity of 75,000 (that will be increased to a maximum of 92,000 seats).

Stadium Period
Stade de Marchan 1983–2011
Ibn Batouta Stadium 2012–present
Ibn Batouta Stadium

Season results

League and cup

Season League Top goalscorer Moroccan Cup
Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA Pts Name League
2015–16 1st 3rd 30 14 8 8 36 23 50 Ivory Coast Hervé Guy 7 Quarter-finals
2016–17 1st 5th 30 12 9 9 33 25 45 Morocco Ahmed Hammoudan 6 Semi-finals
2017–18 1st 1st 30 14 10 6 34 23 52 Morocco Mehdi Naghmi 13 Round of 16
2018–19 1st 5th 30 9 13 8 27 30 40 Morocco Mehdi Naghmi 9 Round of 16
2019–20 1st 14th 30 7 11 12 20 36 32 Morocco Sofian El Moudane 4 Quarter-finals
2020–21 1st 8th 30 10 6 14 29 36 36 Gabon Axel Méyé 12 Round of 16
2021–22 1st 13th 30 8 9 13 31 41 33 Gabon Axel Méyé 12 Round of 16
2022–23 1st 14th 30 8 5 17 23 39 29 Morocco Sofian El Moudane 5 Round of 16
2023–24 1st 12th 30 7 12 11 29 38 33 Morocco Ismail Khafi 13 Round of 32
2024–25 1st 10th 30 9 10 11 35 37 37 Morocco Ali El Harrak & Morocco Hamza El Wasti 7 Round of 32

African competitions

Year Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate Q
2017 CAF Confederation Cup PR Niger AS Douanes 1–0 2–1 3–1
1R Guinea AS Kaloum 3–0 0–1 3–1
PO Guinea Horoya AC 3–2 0–2 3–4
2018–19 CAF Champions League PR Chad Elect-Sport FC 1–0 0–0 1–0
1R Algeria JS Saoura 1–0 0–2 1–2
2018–19 CAF Confederation Cup PO Egypt Zamalek SC 0–0 1–3 1–3

Arab competition

Year Competition Round Opponent Score Position Q
2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup PR Bahrain Riffa SC 0–2 2nd
Iraq Al-Zawraa SC 3–0
Somalia Horseed FC 1–6
Notes
  • PR: Preliminary round
  • 1R: First round
  • PO: Play-off round

Honours

Type Competition Titles Winning Seasons Runners-up
Domestic Botola Pro 1 2017–18 1989–90
Botola 2 3 1961–62, 2000–01, 2014–15 1986–87, 1996–97,

Players

Current squad

As of 24 December 2025[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 DF  MAR Amine El Ouad
4 DF  MAR Mohamed Saoud
5 FW  MAR Mohsine Moutaouali (captain)
6 DF  MAR Bilal El Ouadghiri
8 MF  MAR Faouzi Abdelmottalib (3rd captain)
12 GK  TOG Malcolm Barcola
13 DF  MAR Oussama Al Aiz
14 FW  MAR Haitam El Bahja
16 MF  MAR Ahmed Chentouf (vice-captain)
17 MF  MAR Abdelhamid Maâli
19 FW  MAR Jawad Ghabra
20 MF  MAR Ennama El Bellali
21 MF  MAR Hamza Moudene
22 DF  MAR Zakaria Kiani
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 DF  MAR Anass Lamrabat
24 DF  ESP Akram El Wahabi
29 MF  FRA Adam Darazi
34 MF  MAR Mohammed El Guartit
38 FW  FRA Livty Kpolo
49 MF  MAR Louay El Moussaoui
64 FW  MAR Nawfal Chninak
72 FW  SEN Papa Magueye Gaye
73 GK  MAR Youssef Laghzal
75 FW  SEN Moussa Koté
79 MF  CIV Siriki Sanogo
97 DF  MAR Badr Gaddarine
99 FW  BEL Zakaria Bakkali

Reserve team and Youth Academy

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
26 GK  MAR Yassin El Hachloufi
27 FW  MAR Soulaimane Ait Dani
No. Pos. Nation Player
39 MF  MAR Yahya Zekri
50 MF  MAR Youssef Ezzarradi

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player

Former players

Personnel

Current technical staff

Position Name
First team head coach Morocco Hilal Et-tair
Assistant coach Morocco Abdelouahed Benkacem
Goalkeeping coach Morocco Mohammed Bestara
Fitness coach Morocco Rachid Blej
Performance analyst Morocco Ahmed Zekhnini
Club doctor Morocco Houssine Azizi
Physiotherapist Morocco Nacereddine Jabouri
Healer Morocco Abdelmonhem Nafie
Delegate Morocco Ali Haddou
Hope's team coach Morocco Khalid Bahid
Hope's team assistant coach Morocco Youssef Sekour
Hope's Team Fitness coach Morocco Ahmed Azmi
Formation center manager Morocco Abdelhakim Ben Saddik
Director of Performance and Scouting Morocco Oualid Tanazefti[4]

Source:[5][6]

Managers

Management

Board of directors

Position Name
President Nassrallah El Guartit
Executive Office Members Rachid El Hassani
Anass El Ouassini
Issam Talibi
Abdellah El Mrabet Dajidi
Noureddine Changachi
Rabie Jaabak
Samir Temlali
Zakaria Hachoumi
Yassine Temsamani
Omar Al Abbas

Source:[7]

Presidents

  • Abdessalam Aghziel (1983–84)
  • Amine Assoufi
  • Abdeslam Arbaine
  • Hassan Bouhrize
  • Mohammed Zbakh
  • Mohamed Larbi Bouras (2002–04)
  • Abdelhak Bakhat (2009)
  • Adil Defouf (–2012)
  • Abdelhamid Aberchane (2013–21)
  • Mohamed Ahagan (2021–22)[8]
  • Mohammed Cherkaoui (2023–24)[9][10]
  • Nassrallah El Guartit (2024–)

Partnerships

See also

References

  1. ^ "The blue northern club of Tangiers". Archived from the original on 20 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Ittihad Tanger". www.goalzz.com. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  3. ^ "Ittihad Riadhi de Tanger: Squad; 2024/2025". soccerway. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  4. ^ "اتحاد طنجة يعزز هيكلته التقنية بضم وليد تنازفتي مديرا للأداء والاستقطابة" [Ittihad Tanger strengthens its technical structure by adding Oualid Tanazefti as Director of Performance and Scouting.]. 25 September 2025.
  5. ^ "الإطار الوطني هلال الطير مدربا لاتــحــاد طــنــجــة" [The national manager, Hilal Ettair, coach of Ittihad Tanger]. 21 January 2023.
  6. ^ "بـــلاغ" [announcement]. 17 July 2023.
  7. ^ "انتخاب نصر الله كرطيط رئيسا لنادي اتحاد طنجة لكرة القدم و هذه لائحة المكتب المسير" [Nassrallah El Guartit was elected as president of the Ittihad Tanger Football Club. This is the list of the executive office.]. ecopress.ma. 18 October 2024.
  8. ^ "L'IRT annonce la formation de son nouveau bureau dirigeant" [IRT announces the formation of its new governing body]. snrt.ma. 22 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Botola: Mohamed Cherkaoui, un nouveau président au chevet de l'R Tanger" [Botola: Mohamed Cherkaoui, a new president at the bedside of IR Tanger]. sport.le360.ma. 16 January 2023.
  10. ^ "لائحة المكتب المديري لفريق اتحاد طنجة لكرة القدم ولجانه" [Regulations of the managerial office of the Ittihad Tanger Football Association team and its committees]. Ittihad Riadi De Tanger. 19 May 2023.
  11. ^ "فريق اتحاد طنجة يوقع اتفاقية شراكة وتعاون مع فريق شباب بلوزداد الجزائري" [Ittihad Tangiers signs a partnership and cooperation agreement with the Algerian club Chaba Belouizdad] (in Arabic). tanjaelkobra.com. 22 January 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  12. ^ "وفد من فريق اتحاد طنجة يزور مدينة برشلونة لتوقيع اتفاقية شراكة مع نادي اسبانيول" [A delegation from Ittihad Tanger visits Barcelona to sign a partnership agreement with Espanyol] (in Arabic). IR Tanger. 20 September 2018. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  13. ^ "El C.D. Leganés firma un acuerdo de colaboración con el Ittihad de Tanger" [El C.D. Leganés firma un acuerdo de colaboración con el Ittihad de Tanger] (in Spanish). CD Leganés. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Eagle Football Group et l'Ittihad Riadi de Tanger (IRT) scellent un partenariat stratégique de trois ans" [Eagle Football Group and Ittihad Riadi de Tanger (IRT) seal a three-year strategic partnership] (in French). Olympique Lyonnais. 10 November 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  • IR Tangier on Facebook
  • Media related to IR Tanger at Wikimedia Commons
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