But defeat to Egypt’s Pyramids FC last season showed they do not always rise to the occasion and, while they have a more pedigreed squad than their opponents, sometimes heart and desire are worth more.
FAR Rabat will have that in spades as they seek a first victory in the competition since their only previous triumph in 1985. On that occasion, they defeated AS Bilima from DR Congo (then Zaire) in the decider.
The Moroccans won the first leg 5-2 before a 1-1 draw in the second handed them a handsome 6-3 aggregate success.
That was their only final before this year, when they have been on a surprise run to the finish line.
They started with a comfortable 4-1 aggregate win over Real de Banjul from The Gambia in the first round before seeing off Guinean side Horoya 4-1 on aggregate in the second.
They did not start the pool stage well, with a 1-0 loss at Tanzanian outfit Young Africans, but won two and drew three of their next five games to finish second in Group B behind Egyptian giants Al Ahly.
That set up a quarter-final with last year’s champions Pyramids and, following a 1-1 home draw, they managed a 2-1 away win.
They faced compatriots RS Berkane in the semi-finals and were underdogs again, but won 2-0 at home and lost 1-0 away for a 2-1 aggregate success.
Like most sides, their home form is their strength. They have lost just once on their own patch in the Champions League since 2007 (W13 D7), which was in 2023.
But away from home it is more of a struggle in the competition. They have played 29 matches since 2005 and won four times, to go with nine draws and 16 losses.
The club was created by Morocco’s king in 1958 and essentially is still government-owned and controlled, with the club president an army general.
Royal Armed Forces have won 13 Moroccan championships and 12 Throne Cups and were the first Moroccan team to participate in African competition.
The club was promoted to the first division in 1959, just one year after its creation, and dominated the Botola championship until 1970 under the guidance of French coach Guy Cluseau.
The team experienced a resurgence in the early 1980s under the direction of Brazilian coach José Faria but, after 1990, waited 15 years before again qualifying for the Champions League.
In between, however, they got to the 1997 final of the African Cup Winners’ Cup under Frenchman Henri Depireux, losing to Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia.
In 2005, they qualified for the Champions League but went out before the group stage, dropping down to the African Confederation Cup, which they won under Mohamed Fakhir with a 3-1 aggregate triumph over Dolphin FC of Nigeria in the final.
In 2006, they reached the Confederation Cup final again but lost to Etoile du Sahel, and the following year made it to the group phase of the Champions League for the first time.
But it was only last year that they got back to the group stage, under veteran French coach Hubert Velud, who had to give up the job when he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon. Royal Armed Forces finished top of the group despite a change of coach, finishing ahead of Sundowns in the standings. The two clubs played out draws in both Rabat and Pretoria in their group clashes.
Portuguese coach Alexandre Santos took over from Velud but saw the side exit in the quarter-final to eventual winners Pyramids, only to bounce back this year and go all the way to the final.