Football in Algeria (
soccer) is the country's most popular sport. The country's top domestic league is organised into two national divisions, the
Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 and the
Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 2
The Algerian Ligue 2, also called Ligue 2 , formerly known as Ligue Professionnelle 2 and Championnat National 2, is the second highest division overall in the Algerian football league system. It was professional from 2010 to 2020.
History
The ...
, overseen by the
Algerian Football Federation.
History
Beginning
On 5 February 1894, during the
French occupation of Algeria era, the first Algerian club was formed in
Oran.
Club des Joyeusetés d'Oran, was founded by European settlers in the neighborhood El-Derb of Oran. It was followed in the same year by the ''Club Athlétique Liberté d'Oran'' (CAL Oran), formed in 1897 by European settlers in the neighborhood Saint-Antoine of Oran under the name ''Club Athlétique d'Oran''. These are the first clubs in the country and the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
. Other clubs will follow later, and will be created in various cities including Oran.
In 1898 was created the first Muslim club,
CS Constantine
Club Sportif Constantinois ( ar, النادي الرياضي القسنطيني), also known as CS Constantine or simply CSC for short, is an Algerian football club based in Constantine, Algeria. The club was founded in 1898, and its colours are ...
was born in
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
*Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
under the name of ''IKBAL Emancipation''.
In 1911 the
French Football Federation creates a
North African Championship
The North African Championship was a football competition involving the territories of French Algeria, French protectorate of Morocco and French protectorate of Tunisia. It was played between the champions of the Tunisian, the Moroccan footb ...
representing the third French division (honor league), which became an official competition in 1921 after creation in 1920 of the three regional leagues in
Oran,
Algiers and
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
*Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
, the winner of each league qualify to a North African Championship.
After independence
The
Algerian Football Federation was founded in 1963 in order to organise national competitions and international matches. The first national championship and the cup started immediately after independence in 1962.
Club football
List of football clubs in Algeria by major honours won
Before independence period (French Algeria)
Below is a list of football clubs in Algeria before independence. It contains all clubs that have played in different
French Algerian leagues divisions before 1962, the independence year of
Algeria
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. Most of the clubs that were founded by the European settlers were dissolved in 1962.
After independence period (Algeria)
National teams
FLN team
In 1958, a representative selection of Algeria's National Team (
FLN football team
The FLN football team (in ar, فريق جبهة التحرير الوطني لكرة القدم, in french: Équipe du FLN de football), also known as ''Le onze de l'indépendance'' ( en, The eleven of the Independence) was a team made ...
) is secretly created by the
National Liberation Front (FLN) to serve the cause of Algeria. it is composed essentially of professional players who play in the French league such
Rachid Mekhloufi. The team played its first international game in a group test before its creation in 1957 in
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
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against
Tunisia
)
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, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
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, ...
. Its played several friendly matches with high level national teams and clubs.
Algeria national team
After independence in 1962,
Algeria's national team replace the
FLN football team
The FLN football team (in ar, فريق جبهة التحرير الوطني لكرة القدم, in french: Équipe du FLN de football), also known as ''Le onze de l'indépendance'' ( en, The eleven of the Independence) was a team made ...
. This team saw its period of greatest success in the 1980s with great players such
Lakhdar Belloumi
Lakhdar Belloumi ( ar, لخضر بلومي; born on 29 December 1958) is an Algerian former football player and manager. He is widely considered as the best Algerian player of all time and one of the best players in Africa. He is said to have inv ...
,
Rabah Madjer
Rabah Mustapha Madjer ( ar, رابح مصطفى ماجر; born 15 December 1958) is an Algerian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
He reached stardom as a Porto player during the 1980s, being widely regarded as one of th ...
,
Salah Assad
Salah Assad ( ar, صالح عصاد; born 10 June 1958, in Larbaâ Nath Irathen) is a former Algerian football striker and manager.
He played for RC Kouba, where he won an Algerian championship in 1981, and in France for FC Mulhouse For Alger ...
. Algeria qualified for the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
in
1982 and
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
,
2010 and
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and qualified to second round in 2014 World Cup after defeating 4-2
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
and 1-1 drawing with
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. The team was eliminated by
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, crowned as champions by a 2–1 score at extra time.
During the 1982 tournament, Algeria managed a surprise defeat of
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
in their first ever World Cup game and thus became the first African team to defeat European opposition at the World Cup, but were eliminated after the so-called
"Shame of Gijón".
Due to Algeria's historic ties with
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, there have been a number of Algerian players playing professionally in the French leagues, while the
French national team has included players of
Algeria
)
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, capital = Algiers
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n heritage, most notably
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the mos ...
,
Karim Benzema
Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains La Liga club Real Madrid. A creative and prolific forward, Benzema is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time. ...
and
Samir Nasri
Samir Nasri (born 26 June 1987) is a French former professional footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder and a winger, although he had also been deployed in central midfield.
Nasri was known for his dribbling, ball control ...
.
Future for the Algerians Program
Clubs
References
External links
FAF official websiteLFP official website
{{Football in Africa
bg:Алжирско първенство