Moroccan international Soufiane Rahimi mourns the loss of his father

This update focuses on Soufiane Rahimi father. Haj Mohamed “Youari” Rahimi, father of Moroccan international forward Soufiane Rahimi and a historic figure of Raja Casablanca, passed away on Thursday 3 September after a long illness.

Soufiane Rahimi father: what to know

For many supporters, the name of Soufiane Rahimi father was inseparable from the history of Raja Casablanca. Known by everyone at the club as “Youari”, he embodied loyalty and discretion behind the scenes.

His relationship with Raja began more than six decades ago. In the early 1960s, he joined the club’s academy as a goalkeeper and was considered a promising talent, with a future in the first team.

A car accident shattered that sporting dream. Instead of walking away, he decided to stay at Raja and continue serving the club in another way. He became responsible for equipment and logistics, working daily at the heart of the dressing room.

“Youari”, the living memory of Raja Casablanca

Over the years, “Youari” accompanied several generations of players, coaches and officials. He quietly witnessed many of the club’s greatest achievements in domestic and African competitions.

Supporters often described him as a living memory of Raja. He was known for his detailed knowledge of the club’s history and his countless behind-the-scenes stories, shared with young players and fans around the Oasis training complex.

According to Moroccan media, his health had deteriorated sharply in recent months. He had been bedridden for more than four months before his death on Thursday 3 September.

A football family rooted in Raja and the national team

Within this green-and-white environment, Soufiane Rahimi father passed on his passion for the game and for Raja to his children. Soufiane grew up around the club’s facilities, spending much of his childhood at the Oasis complex before wearing the famous green shirt himself.

His rise took him from Raja to the Moroccan national team, where he became one of the forwards to watch in recent years. The loss of his father comes as Soufiane continues his professional career abroad, followed closely by Moroccan fans and Raja supporters across the world.

Haj Mohamed Rahimi was also the father of Houcine Rahimi, a former Raja player, further underlining how deeply the family is linked to the club’s history.

A shared mourning among supporters in Morocco and abroad

The passing of “Youari” resonates far beyond Casablanca. It affects a wide community of fans in Morocco and among Moroccans living abroad who continue to follow Raja and the national team from Europe, the Gulf, North America and elsewhere.

For many of them, the name of this case evokes the story of those men in the shadows who keep a club alive day after day. His loyalty to Raja reflects the strong emotional bond that football maintains between the country and its diaspora.

While Moroccans abroad cannot always travel to attend matches or tributes, they remain connected through broadcasts, social media and exchanges with relatives back home. The news of “Youari”’s death is likely to be shared widely within these networks of supporters.

An invisible legacy that shaped Moroccan football

The Rahimi family’s journey illustrates how football values are transmitted from one generation to the next:

• a father, a promising goalkeeper, who stayed loyal to his club despite an accident;
• decades spent serving the Raja dressing room and players;
• sons who went on to become footballers, including Soufiane, a Moroccan international.

Although mourning is first and foremost a private matter for the family, the tributes to “Youari” in Morocco and abroad highlight how figures working in the background can leave a lasting mark on collective memory.

At this stage, there is no detailed information about the funeral arrangements or any formal tributes from the club or football authorities. Reactions from Raja Casablanca and relevant sports institutions are still expected to clarify how the club will bid farewell to this long-serving figure.

For more context, readers can follow Canal212 news for Moroccans abroad.

For official updates, readers can check the relevant official source.