{"id":3935,"date":"2025-04-30T15:33:43","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T13:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=3935"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:40:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:40:45","slug":"rulani-mokwena-departs-wydad-casablanca-club-confirms-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/rulani-mokwena-departs-wydad-casablanca-club-confirms-exit\/","title":{"rendered":"Rulani Mokwena Departs Wydad Casablanca: Club Confirms Exit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Wydad Casablanca have officially announced the departure of their head coach, Rulani Mokwena. He has been placed on extended leave as the club prepares to finalize his exit following the current Botola Pro League campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-rulani-mokwena-requests-early-departure\"><strong>Rulani Mokwena Requests Early Departure<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/sport\/soccer\/local-soccer\/wydad-finally-confirm-rulani-exit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">formal communication<\/a> from the Moroccan club, Mokwena himself initiated this break. He cited the enormous emotional strain as a significant factor behind his decision. The club acknowledged that the South African mentor had been dealing with &#8220;enormous psychological pressure&#8221;. He opted to step back before the league\u2019s conclusion. As such, he will not return to the touchline for the remainder of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-791817834\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-contract-to-end-after-season-concludes\"><strong>Contract to End After Season Concludes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Wydad\u2019s leadership clarified that Mokwena\u2019s employment will be formally concluded once the ongoing campaign wraps up. While speculation swirled around potential severance costs, the club was adamant. There would be no financial settlement beyond the coach\u2019s outstanding monthly salary. This reflects their intention to honor the agreed terms without incurring additional payouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-benhachem-to-guide-team-temporarily\"><strong>Benhachem to Guide Team Temporarily<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the interim, Amine Benhachem\u2014who holds dual roles as the team\u2019s sporting director and a national coach\u2014has been tasked with managing the senior squad for the rest of the season. The club expressed confidence in his ability to steady the ship during this transitional phase. Although Rulani Mokwena is on leave, his influence remains significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-1014572066\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-unfulfilled-expectations-in-morocco\"><strong>Unfulfilled Expectations in Morocco<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mokwena took over the reins at Wydad Casablanca at the beginning of the season with lofty ambitions. These included a potential shot at the FIFA Club World Cup later this year in the United States. However, the team has struggled under his leadership. They now face the prospect of missing out on next season\u2019s CAF Champions League, which is a major disappointment for the Red Castle faithful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-s-next-for-mokwena\"><strong>What\u2019s Next for Mokwena?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Back home, talk has intensified around Mokwena\u2019s possible return to the Betway Premiership. Whispers are growing louder about him replacing Jose Riveiro at Orlando Pirates. Riveiro is set to leave the Buccaneers when the season ends, making the timing of Mokwena\u2019s availability particularly interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As one chapter closes for Mokwena in Morocco, attention now shifts to his next destination\u2014and whether it will indeed be a familiar return to Soweto where Rulani Mokwena&#8217;s career could continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/orlando-pirates-eye-rulani-mokwena-as-potential-replacement-for-riveiro\/\">Orlando Pirates Eye Rulani Mokwena as Potential Replacement for Riveiro<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wydad Casablanca have officially announced the departure of their head coach, Rulani Mokwena. He has been placed on extended leave as the club prepares to finalize his exit following the current Botola Pro League campaign. Rulani Mokwena Requests Early Departure According to a formal communication from the Moroccan club, Mokwena himself initiated this break. He<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3936,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Wydad Casablanca have officially announced the departure of their head coach, Rulani Mokwena. He has been placed on extended leave as the club prepares to...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[289,1088,288],"class_list":{"0":"post-3935","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-african-football","10":"tag-rulani-mokwena","11":"tag-soccer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3935"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3937,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3935\/revisions\/3937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}