Man City’s first Club World Cup opponent Wydad splits with coach weeks before US tournament

Four weeks before facing Manchester City in its opening Club World Cup game in Philadelphia, Wydad coach Rhulani Mokwena has left the Moroccan team.

Wydad said the club and Mokwena “mutually agreed to terminate their contract with immediate effect” in a statement published late Monday.

Wydad did not announce plans to replace the South African coach ahead of traveling to the United States for the revamped 32-team FIFA club tournament that opens June 14.

After facing City on June 18, Wydad stays in Philadelphia to play Juventus, then goes to Washington DC to play Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates.

Wydad’s preparation also could be affected by a FIFA ban on registering new players that can be signed in a special transfer window in early June. FIFA typically imposes registration bans on clubs which have unpaid bills for transfer fees or wages.

FIFA will pay $9.55 million to each of the four African teams which qualified for the Club World Cup by winning an edition of the continent’s Champions League from 2021 to 2024. The total prize fund is $1 billion, which mostly will go to 12 European teams who qualified.

Wydad won Africa’s Champions League in 2022 when coached by Walid Regragui. He left to coach Morocco and within months helped the team to become the first from the continent to reach a World Cup semifinal.

Mokwena’s replacement will be the 10th coach in three years at Wydad since Regragui left.

Under Mokwena, Wydad finished third in the Moroccan league and did not qualify for next season’s Champions League. Reports in South Africa suggested the coach went several months without being paid.

In a joint statement Monday with Mokwena, Wydad said he “extends his heartfelt thanks to our esteemed president (Hicham Ait Menna) for his visionary leadership and steadfast support.”

Mokwena also wished “tremendous success” to Wydad at the Club World Cup.

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