[3] It is one of the three main cities of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region and the capital of the similarly named Kénitra Province.

During the Cold War, the US Naval Air Station Port Lyautey served as a stopping point in North Africa.

[4] In March 1912 the French government and the Sultan of Morocco, Abd al-Hafid, signed the Treaty of Fez.

Because of his growing unpopularity, the Sultan asked the French government for protection against the Berber rebel tribes surrounding Fez.

After safely moving the Sultan from Fez to the current capital city, Rabat, Lyautey began his task of civilian administration.

One of the first preoccupations of General Lyautey was to build ports along the inhabitable Atlantic coast where there were no natural harbors.

[6] Kenitra draws its name from a culvert built at Fouarat lake upstream of the kasbah.

The city has grown rapidly to be a shipping centre for agricultural produce (mainly fruit), fish, timber, and lead and zinc ores.

The team, made entirely of Kenitra natives, succeeded in reaching the premier Moroccan soccer league in 1956.

Noureddine Bouyahyaoui and Labid Khalifa were among the players who helped the Moroccan national soccer team qualify for the second round of the World Cup finals in Mexico in 1986.