As the prospect of expanding the Botola Pro returns to the agenda, one question arises before there is even any debate over the sporting merits of such a reform: which body actually has the authority to expand the championship from 16 to 20 clubs? A combined reading of the FRMF statutes, the LNFP statutes, and the competition regulations provides a clearer answer.
Under the rules currently in force, Botola Pro D1 consists of 16 clubs. The competition regulations of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation set the maximum number of clubs in the professional first division at 16. The same applies to Botola Pro D2.
Changing this format would therefore require, at the very least, an amendment to the regulations governing national competitions. And on this point, the FRMF statutes assign a central role to the Federation’s Executive Committee.
Article 28 of the Federation’s statutes defines the Executive Committee as «the governing and management body of the FRMF». Its prerogatives include overseeing and supervising national competitions, but above all the authority to enact the Federation’s General Regulations.
Article 78 specifies that all of the Federation’s regulations and codes constitute a body of rules referred to as the «General Regulations».
The FRMF Statutes as a Legal Constraint
At first reading, the FRMF Executive Committee therefore has the necessary authority to amend the competition regulations and, consequently, the number of clubs stipulated therein. A decision by the LNFP alone is not sufficient to amend a federal rule.
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The LNFP statutes do indeed entrust it with organizing and managing the professional championships. Its Executive Committee may also draw up reform proposals. But the League remains under the authority of the FRMF and must comply with the Federation’s rules.
The issue becomes more complicated, however, when one turns to the Federation’s own statutes. This is because the number 16 does not appear solely in the competition regulations.
Article 18 of the FRMF statutes, which governs the representation of members at the General Assembly, provides for «sixteen (16) Delegates representing the sixteen (16) clubs of the professional first-division championship». For D2, the same article refers to representatives «elected by the 16 club presidents of this championship».
Expanding the league to 20 teams would therefore immediately raise the question of whether this new configuration complies with the statutes, particularly with regard to club representation within the Federation’s supreme body.
Unlike regulations, however, the statutes cannot be amended by the Executive Committee alone.
The LNFP Can Propose, the FRMF Decides
Article 24 leaves little room for interpretation: «The General Assembly has the authority to amend the Statutes». An amendment may be proposed by the Executive Committee or by two-thirds of the delegates, but it must be submitted to a vote of the General Assembly and secure a two-thirds majority of the valid votes cast. The new statutes then enter into force only after ratification by FIFA’s bodies.
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This authority of the General Assembly is also enshrined in Article 19, which expressly grants it the power «to adopt and amend the Statutes».
The division of responsibilities thus becomes clearer. The LNFP can initiate a reform of the championship and advocate a new format. The FRMF Executive Committee, for its part, has the regulatory authority required to amend the competition regulations.
But if the reform entails changes to provisions contained in the Federation’s statutes—as necessarily raised by Article 18’s current reference to the «sixteen clubs» of the first division — the FRMF General Assembly becomes indispensable to bring the statutes into line with the new configuration.
There are therefore two distinct levels that should not be confused: amending the competition regulations falls within the regulatory authority of the FRMF Executive Committee, while any amendment to the statutes falls exclusively within the remit of the General Assembly.
A Reform at Odds With the Priorities?
An LNFP meeting is indeed scheduled for this Monday to discuss a possible expansion of the Botola. If a proposal is adopted, it will then have to be examined by the FRMF Executive Committee, since the competition regulations currently cap the number of first-division clubs at 16. And if the reform requires the Federation’s statutes to be amended, the General Assembly will in turn have to become involved.
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Beyond the procedure, however, it is above all the choice of priority that raises questions. At a recent meeting of the FRMF Executive Committee, Fouzi Lekjaa laid out a clear roadmap for the national leagues: greater autonomy, better governance, marketing development, improved organization of competitions and better conditions for supporters, as well as greater efforts in youth development. Increasing the number of clubs was not among those priorities.
Has the LNFP, then, misunderstood the roadmap? At a time when Moroccan professional football still needs to make progress in its organization, governance, economic model and the commercial value of its competitions, is adding more clubs really the priority? Before seeking to expand the top flight, should the focus not first be on better organizing, managing and promoting the clubs already competing in it?
