Rulani Mokwena: Contract details & first words as Wydad Athletic Club coach

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The former Orlando Pirates and Masandawana coach is excited about the new journey outside Mzansi.

Rulani Mokwena has promised to work harder to ensure he sustains Wydad Athletic Club's winning culture.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach was unveiled by the 2022 Caf Champions League winners on Thursday evening in their bid to get back to winning ways. In the previous campaign, the North Africans finished sixth in the Botola Pro League and struggled to stage meaningful authority in the competitions they played.

Mokwena has been handed a three-year contract to streamline the team and make it competitive again.

Mokwena ready for the daunting task

The 37-year-old is excited to start a new journey in North Africa, but concedes it will not be a walk in the park.

“I understand how big this challenge is, believe me, I don’t come here with my eyes closed, the negotiations have taken quite a long time because there were quite a few things we had to agree on,” the tactician said in a presser after completing the formalities.

“The board is as ambitious as I am and have committed themselves to giving us full support to wake up a sleeping giant and I think is not to teach Wydad how to win as a football club, I mean 22 league titles, three Champions League, it’s a team that knows how to win.

“Our [work] is just to come here and remind them of what Wydad stands for and when you speak about love, when I did my history on the club I found out that Wydad means love, appreciation. So the same appreciation I once felt from the supporters as an opponent, I’m grateful things have turned and now I receive the same amount of love and maybe even more as I join this incredible family. So yeah it’s going to be a very difficult task.

“But it’s one the board also understands how difficult it’s going to be, the supporters understand how difficult it’s going to be, but difficult doesn’t mean impossible and our job is to get this club back to where it belongs.”

Rulani Mokwena: Contract details & first words as Wydad Athletic Club coach

Willis Sob

Willis Sob is an experienced journalist who has been in the game since 2009, covering major assignments around the continent.
His hunger for African football is unmatched, always getting the best angles and facts to feed the fans and quench their thirst.