Sami Trabelsi among leading candidates to coach Wydad Athletic Club as Casablanca giants search for fourth coach of the season

Tunisian coach Sami Trabelsi is among the leading candidates to take charge of Wydad Athletic Club, La Presse de Tunisie reported on Thursday, as the Casablanca club search for their fourth head coach of the 2025–26 season.

Hamouda Bencherifa resigned as Wydad coach on Monday 22 June, a day after the club lost 1-0 to Difaâ El Jadida in round 26 of Morocco's Botola Pro. Sources said he departed because he lacked the conditions required to work as intended and was dissatisfied with several internal matters he believed were harming the squad.

Bencherifa had replaced French coach Patrice Carteron but remained in charge for less than two months, managing nine matches across all competitions and recording five victories and four defeats.

Trabelsi, 57, has been without a club since January. The Tunisian Football Federation parted ways with him following Tunisia's elimination in the round of 16 at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations against Mali. Trabelsi had taken charge in February 2025 and guided the Carthage Eagles to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, finishing top of their African qualifying group.

A coach with continental credentials

Trabelsi is a Tunisian football coach and former player with two stints as national team manager. His first spell in charge of Tunisia ran from 2011 to 2013, during which he led the country to the Championship of African Nations title in Sudan in 2011.

As a player, Trabelsi earned 52 caps for the Tunisia national team and was part of the squad at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He played for several clubs, most notably CS Sfaxien.

Wydad's season of managerial upheaval

Wydad Athletic Club is a Moroccan sports club based in Casablanca, best known for its football team competing in Botola Pro, the top tier of the Moroccan league. Domestically, the club has won a record 22 Moroccan league titles and nine Moroccan Throne Cups , making it the most decorated club in the country.

The season has been defined by instability in the dugout. Wydad parted ways with Mohamed Amine Benhachem following the team's elimination from the CAF Confederation Cup in the quarter-finals. After seven matches without a single victory, the club then dismissed Patrice Carteron and appointed former captain Mohammed Bencherifa on 30 April.

Wydad had not immediately announced a replacement or confirmed who would oversee the team's next match following Bencherifa's departure on 22 June.

The club's next appointment is expected to be confirmed ahead of their remaining Botola Pro fixtures.