‘I chose Wydad for several compelling reasons’: Mailula reunites with Mokwena

Former Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns striker Cassius Mailula has reunited with Rulani Mokwena at Wydad Athletic Club in Morocco.

Wydad announced on Wednesday Mailula has joined the Moroccan giants who are now coached by Mokwena after his abrupt departure from Sundowns last month.

The 23-year old striker has signed on a season's loan from Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit Toronto FC, but with an option to buy him outright at the end of the 2024-2025 campaign. 

Mailula burst onto the scene at Sundowns in the 2022-2023 season, scoring 15 goals in 34 league and cup games and earning a Bafana call-up.

His move to North America has not panned out well, the forward struggling for game time in a team that boasted former Italian internationals Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi and Canadian youth international Deandre Kerr in their forward line. 

Mailula said reuniting with Mokwena was a major motivation for joining Wydad.

“I chose Wydad AC for several compelling reasons. First, I will be under the guidance of coach Rulani who knows me well and has always believed in my abilities,” the striker was quoted as saying in a post on X by his representatives P Management Sports.

“He played a pivotal role in my [emergence] at Mamelodi Sundowns. Wydad is a prestigious club and when coach Rulani shared his ambitions and vision to make history with the team I knew it was the right choice.

“Additionally, the opportunity to compete in the Club World Cup next year is a significant driver to the decision as it aligns with my dream of playing against the best players in the world.”

Toronto confirmed the move, saying on their official website the club “has sent forward Cassius Mailula on loan to Moroccan club Wydad Athletic Club of the Botola Pro [league] to July 31 2025”.

“Wydad AC will have the option to exercise a permanent transfer for Mailula at the end of this loan.”

Due to his lack of action, Bafana coach Hugo Broos did not select Mailula for the senior national team and he missed out on appearing at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Ivory Coast this year, where South Africa won the bronze medal. 

The move to the Moroccan giants is an opportunity for the striker to work his way back into Bafana amid a busy programme where the national team is involved in qualifiers for 2025 Afcon and the 2026 Fifa World Cup in the US. 

Mailula played just eight MLS games without scoring after joining Toronto from Sundowns in July 2023.