Mohamed Mehdi Bensaïd has categorically denied any involvement in the debate over the format of Morocco’s top-flight championship. Responding to allegations of behind-the-scenes lobbying with football authorities, the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication and president of Union Sportive Yacoub El Mansour (USYM) is unequivocal: he has had no involvement whatsoever in discussions over expanding the Botola from 16 to 18 or 20 clubs.
Rejecting any notion of securing the club’s survival through an administrative decision, the minister confirmed that USYM is already actively preparing for next season in the second division. He added that, had he intended to use any form of influence to prevent the club’s relegation, he would have done so long before the outcome on the pitch had been definitively decided.
To rebut what he describes as unfounded allegations, those close to Mehdi Bensaïd point to several key arguments. They stress that the minister has no need to rely on football to win elections. In the 2021 legislative elections, USYM was still competing in the amateur divisions, yet that did not prevent Mehdi Bensaïd from comfortably winning his parliamentary seat in the Yacoub El Mansour constituency.
“His campaign is fought on political ground and on the strength of his proposals, not by exploiting his position as president of a football club,” his entourage said.
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Addressing his relationship with FRMF president Fouzi Lekjaa, the minister noted that the two have known each other since 2019. Had favors been intended for USYM, he argued, the club would not have spent several years in the lower divisions before eventually earning promotion to the Botola Pro. Bensaïd’s camp further maintains that the idea of expanding the league originated from discussions among club coaches convened by the Federation to examine ways of improving the standard of play—not from pressure exerted by politicians or relegated club officials.
The minister’s statement comes amid an increasingly heated debate over the future format of the Botola Pro. Following the relegation of USYM, Olympique de Safi, and Olympique Dcheira at the end of the season, proposals to increase the number of clubs from 16 to 20 have resurfaced in public debate.
The expansion proposal has been widely interpreted as a backroom attempt to reinstate relegated clubs at the expense of sporting fairness. With USYM chaired by a sitting minister who is also standing in the upcoming legislative elections in the politically important Yacoub El Mansour constituency, suspicions had grown that the proposal formed part of a political calculation aimed at preserving his local popularity ahead of the vote. A scenario that Bensaïd now firmly rejects.
