The Excellence Cup () is a

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tournament in Moroccan football, created in 2024 and organized by the LNFP. It is open to all professional clubs of the

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and

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divisions of each season. Its objectives are the integration and development of young players, the gradual recovery after the breaks and the maintenance of competition rhythm during the suspensions of the league. Participating clubs are required to register at least ten under-23 players on the match squad and to play at least six throughout the match. The competition begins with a group stage consisting of eight groups and continues with a two-legged knockout phase which begins with the round of 16.

History

On 21 June 2024, the president of the Ligue nationale de football professionnel Abdeslam Belkchour, announced during a meeting of the board of directors with the team coaches, the launch of the Excellence Cup. Organized under the aegis of the LNFP, it will be open to clubs competing in the

Botola Pro The Botola Pro (), officially known as the Botola Pro Inwi for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Morocco and the top tier of the Moroccan football league system. Organized by the Ligue Nationale de Football Pro ...

and Botola Pro 2 of each season. The LNFP states that the competition has the following objectives: * The integration of under-23 players into the first team squad. * The supervision of talented players likely to be called up to the national youth teams. * The gradual resumption after the summer and winter breaks and during international breaks. * Increasing the annual number of matches. * Maintaining the pace of competition during league breaks. On 3 September, the Excellence Cup was officially launched with a match between Olympique Dcheira and

Hassania Agadir Hassania Union Sport d'Agadir () commonly referred to as Hassania Agadir and known as l'Hassania, or simply as HUSA, is a Moroccan football club based in Agadir. The club was founded on 22 December 1946. It plays its home games at Adrar Stadium ...

at the Ahmed Fana Stadium (2–0).

Regulation

Format

The competition begins with a group stage played in a two-legged format, with the 32 teams divided into eight groups of four teams according to the ranking of the previous season, and the replacement of the D2 clubs relegated to D3 by the clubs newly promoted to D2. The first two teams in each group qualify for the round of 16, which is also played in a two-legged format. The final and the third place play-off are played in a single leg.

Player registration

This competition has the particularity of requiring participating clubs to register at least ten under-23 players on the match sheet and a mandatory participation of at least six under-23 players throughout the match. Even in the case of an expulsion of an under-23 player during a match, this quota must remain unchanged. The number of players to be registered on the match sheet is twenty players maximum with a quota of foreigners of five players regardless of their age. Clubs are also required to align the technical staff of their first team.

Results of finals

Performance

Performance by clubs

List of football clubs ranked by total wins and runners-up.

By city

Records

* First goal ** ( Olympique Dcheira vs

) * First win **

References

External links

FRMF Palmarès

{{Moroccan football Association football competitions in Africa Sports competitions in Morocco 2024–25 in Moroccan football