Zekriya Al-Wahidi is wearing "the black shoe."

The Moroccan international professional player at KRC Genk, Zakaria Wahdi, was awarded the Black Shoe (Soulier d’Ebène) on Monday in its thirty-fifth edition, which is given to the best African player or player of African descent active in Belgium.

Wahdi, who plays as a right-back, has shown impressive performance this season as one of the most influential players in his team, scoring 12 goals and providing 5 assists in 41 matches across various competitions.

On the European stage, the Moroccan international also shone by scoring 4 goals and providing one assist in 9 matches in the UEFA Europa League.

Wahdi was trained at the clubs of Beerschot and Zulte Waregem, before making a notable impact with RWDM, contributing to their return to the Belgian Pro League, and then joining KRC Genk in the summer of 2023.

At the age of 24, Wahdi became the third Moroccan player to win the Black Shoe, after Mbark Boussoufa, who won it three times in 2006, 2009, and 2010, and Tarik Tissoudali in 2022.

Wahdi also previously won the "Belgian Lion" award for 2025, which is given to the best player of Maghreb origin in the first division of the Belgian league.

The player was recently called up to the Moroccan national team, where he played his first match in a friendly against Paraguay at the end of March, noting that he had previously won the African Cup for Under-23s under the guidance of coach Issam Chergui.