Mouloudia Club d'Alger (), referred to as MC Alger or MCA for short, is an Algerian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. The club was founded in 1921 and its colours are red, green and white. Their home stadium, Ali La Pointe Stadium, has a capacity of 40,000 spectators. The club is currently playing in the

Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 The Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 (), known as Championnat National de Première Division or Ligue 1 for short, and formerly known as the Championnat National 1, is the Algerian professional league for association football clubs. It is the co ...

. Founded in 1921 as Mouloudia Club Algérois and Mouloudia Chaâbia d’Alger, the club was known as Mouloudia Pétroliers d'Alger from 1977 to 1986 and changed its name to Mouloudia Club d'Alger in 1986. The club colours are red and green. MC Alger were the first Algerian club to win a continental competition, winning the

1976 African Cup of Champions Clubs The African Cup of Champions Clubs 1976 was the 12th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region (Africa), the African Cup of Champions Clubs. It determined that year's club champion of association footba ...

. They are one of the most successful Algerian clubs having won the domestic league 8 times, and the domestic cup 8 times, tied with

USM Alger Union Sportive de la Médina d'Alger (); known as USM Alger or simply USMA for short, is a Association football, football club based in the inner suburbs of Algiers. The club was founded in 1937 and its colours are red and black. Their home sta ...

CR Belouizdad Chabab Riadhi Belouizdad (); known as CR Belouizdad or simply CRB for short, is an Algerian professional football club based in Algiers, Algeria, that plays in the Ligue Professionnelle 1, the top flight of Algerian football. The club has com ...

and

ES Sétif Entente Sportive Sétifienne (), known as Entente de Sétif, commonly referred to as ES Sétif or ESS for short, is an Algerian professional association football, football club based in Sétif. The club was founded in 1958 and its colours are bl ...

. As of the 2023–24 season, MC Alger was the Algerian football club with the highest market value. The market value was €9.68 million.

History

Birth of Mouloudia, the dean of Algerian clubs

In 1921, Aouf Ahmed, a member of a wealthy family from the

Casbah A kasbah (, also ; , , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasbah, qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term in Spanish (), which is derived from the same ...

and a former student at the Sarrouy school, witnessed a scene that made him want to create a football club. On the Place du Gouvernement, now Place des Martyrs5, children were playing football with a ball made from paper. French soldiers were watching them, and a sergeant declared: "Here is the Parc des Princes of the Arabs!" This statement annoyed him and prompted him to talk about his project to his friends the next day. The meeting that gave birth to the club took place in the back room of the café on rue Bénachère (called Souikia). Several names were proposed: Éclair sportif d’Alger, Croissant club d’Alger, Étoile sportive d'Alger, Jeunesse sportive d'Alger, until the name chosen Mouloudia Club Algérois. The colors (green and red) were chosen for these reasons: green represents the hope of the Algerian people, it is also the symbolic color of Islam. Red symbolizes love of the nation and sacrifice, it is also one of the favorite colors of the prophet Mohammed. Encouraged by his friends, Ahmed Aouf organized the club statutes and regulations of the association, staff, preparation of resources (materials and finances), choice of acronym, problems of supervision, acquisition of a playing field and a sports club. Aouf sent a request to the prefecture to obtain approval for the founding of the club. The response was negative, Aouf Ahmed being then twenty-six years old. He therefore wrote the name of Abdelmalek, his aunt's husband, so that his project would be accepted. Abdelrrahmane Aouf was summoned twice by the prefecture to examine the file concerning the creation of the Muslim club. During the interviews, Aouf convinced the municipality of the legitimacy of his project. Thus, he said that the club would aim to train young people for military service and explained: "green, paradise, red hell for others seeking training". The colonial authorities sent a note to the headquarters specifying that the club's premises should be used only for sporting purposes (in order to prohibit political gatherings)6. On August 31, 1921 (26 Dhou Al-Hijja 1339) the Mouloudia Club Algérois was created. Its headquarters are located at the American refreshment bar, Place Mahon, in Algiers.

The beginnings

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, MC Alger qualified for the

African Cup of Champions Clubs The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual club football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) a ...

for the first time in its history after winning the

1974–75 Algerian Championnat National The 1974–75 Algerian Championnat National was the 13th season of the Algerian Championnat National since its establishment in 1962. A total of 16 teams contested the league, with JS Kawkabi as the defending champions. Team summaries Promotion ...

. They reached the final after beating

Al-Ahly Benghazi Al Ahly Sports Cultural and Social Club (), known as Al Ahly SCSC, is a Libyan sports club based in Benghazi. Al Ahly has its roots in a political party, the Omar al Mukhtar society. History Al-Ahly SC Libya was made a professional football c ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Al Ahly Al-Ahly Sporting Club (), commonly known as Al-Ahly, is an Egyptian professional sports club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team which currently plays in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest ...

of Egypt, Luo Union of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and

Enugu Rangers Rangers International Football Club, commonly known as Enugu Rangers, is a Nigerian professional association football team founded in 1970. Based in Enugu, the Rangers play their home games at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. Enugu Rangers are one ...

of Nigeria, respectively. In the final, they met

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

n club Hafia Conakry, who had won the last edition of the competition. In the first leg in

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

, MC Alger lost 3–0 and faced the difficult task of having to score three goals in the return leg. However, in the return leg, they managed to score the three goals with a brace from

Omar Betrouni Omar Betrouni (; born 9 January 1949) is a former Algeria international football forward who played for MC Alger and USM Alger. Playing career Born in Algiers, Betrouni played club football for MC Alger for more than a decade, winning the Alger ...

and a goal from

Zoubir Bachi Zoubir Bachi (born January 12, 1950) is a retired Algerian football player. He spent the majority of his career with his hometown club of MC Alger, whom he helped win a historic treble in 1976 ( Algerian League, Algerian Cup and African Cup Of Cha ...

. They went on to win the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

4–1 to win their first African title and also become the first

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

n club to win a continental competition.

Crest

File:MC Alger (logo).png, Former logo File:Logo MCA 1921.png, Present logo

Kit manufacturers

Honours

Domestic competitions

* Algerian League 1 ** Champions (8): 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1998–99, 2009–10, 2023–24 ** ''Runners-up (5)'': 1962–63, 1969–70, 1988–89, 2016–17, 2019–20 *

Algerian Cup The Algerian Cup () also known the Republic Cup (), is a football competition in Algeria, pitting regional teams against each other. It was established in October 1962, three months after independence, and has been played yearly since then apart ...

** Winners (8): 1970–71,

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

, 1975–76, 1982–83, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2013–14, 2015–16 ** ''Runners-up (2)'':

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2023–24 *

Algerian Super Cup The Algerian Super Cup () is an Algerian football competition, held as a game between the reigning champions of the Algerian League and the Algerian Cup. The first edition was held in 1981 and then again in 1992, 1994 and 1995 before being scrapp ...

** Winners (4) (record):

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

** ''Runner-up (1)'':

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Algerian League Cup The Algerian League Cup () is an Algerian football competition organized by the Algerian Football Federation. It was established in 1991 and launched in January 1992. History The competition was established in the first edition in 1991-92 and wa ...

** Winners (1): 1998

International competitions

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club (association football), club football competition organized by the Conf ...

** Winners (1):

Regional competitions

Maghreb Cup Winners Cup The Maghreb Cup Winners Cup was a North African football competition organized by the Union Maghrebine de Football (UMF) and which regrouped the cup winners from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya (only in the first edition). Mauritania ...

** Winners (2): 1971, 1974 *

North African Cup of Champions The North African Cup of Champions was a tournament designed by the Union of North African Football (UNAF) that puts together the winners of the domestic leagues around North Africa. The tournament contains representatives from Algeria, Libya, Mo ...

** ''Runners-up (1)'': 2010 * Maghreb Champions Cup ** ''Runners-up (1)'': 1975

Performance in CAF competitions

: 9 appearances ::

– Champion ::

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

– Quarter-finals ::

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

– Second Round ::

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

– Quarter-finals ::

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

– First Round ::

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

– Group stage ::

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

– Group stage ::

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

– Quarter – finals ::

– Quarter-finals *

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football football team, club competition established in 2004 and organized by Confederation of African Football, CAF ...

: 4 appearances ::

– First Round ::

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

– First Round ::

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

– First Round ::

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

– Quarter-finals *

CAF Cup Winners' Cup The African Cup Winners' Cup was a football competition that started in 1975 and merged with the CAF Cup in 2004 to form the CAF Confederation Cup. It was a competition between the winning clubs of domestic cups in CAF-affiliated nations and was ...

: 1 appearance ::1984 – Second Round

Players

Algerian teams are limited to three foreign players. The squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player;

Current squad

On loan

Reserve squad

Personnel

Current technical staff

Notable players

Below are the notable former players who have represented MC Alger in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1921. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 100 official matches for the club or represented the national team for which the player is eligible during his stint with MC Alger or following his departure. ''For a complete list of MC Alger players, see :MC Alger players''

Managers

* Mahmoud Hamid Bacha, Mustapha Biskri (1998) *

Abdelhamid Kermali Abdelhamid Kermali (April 24, 1931 – April 13, 2013) was an Algerian footballer and football manager of the Algerian national team. Kermali was born in Akbou, Algeria. He played in several Algerian clubs as a striker, including USM Alger, bef ...

, Mustapha Biski (1983–89), (1998–1999) * Michel Renquin (2000–2001) * Bachir Mechri, Ali Bencheikh, Bachta (2001–2002) *

Noureddine Saâdi Noureddine Saâdi (6 May 1950 – 20 July 2021) was an Algerian football manager who was managing JSM Béjaïa in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1. He coached many major clubs in Algeria, as well as clubs in Libya and the United Arab Emirates ...

(2002– Dec 4, 2003) *

Hervé Revelli Hervé Revelli (born 5 May 1946) is a French former footballer who played as a forward. Career Revelli scored 31 Ligue 1 goals during the calendar year of 1969. Fifty years later in 2019, Kylian Mbappé became the first French player to score ...

(Jan 1, 2004 – May 1, 2004) * Jean-Paul Rabier (2004–05) *

Robert Nouzaret Robert Nouzaret (born 29 September 1943) is a French football manager and former player. Managerial career On 31 August 2011, Nouzaret resigned as DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kins ...

(July 1, 2005 – Dec 24, 2005) * Noureddine Saâdi (Dec 2005 – March 2006) *

François Bracci François Bracci (31 October 1951 – 28 December 2023) was a French association football, football manager and player. Club career Bracci was born in Beinheim, French Fourth Republic, France on 31 October 1951. He totalled 34 games for RC Stra ...

(March 2006 – Oct 06) * Hacène Matallah (Oct 2006 – Nov 06) * Enrico Fabbro (Nov 2006 – Nov 07) * Jean Thissen (Nov 2007 – Jan 08) * Enrico Fabbro (Jan 2008 – Feb 08) * Mohamed Mekhazni (Feb 2008 – March 8) * Ameur Djamil (March 27, 2008 – Sept 21, 2008) * Alain Michel (Sept 21, 2008 – Dec 09) * François Bracci (Dec 2009–10) * Alain Michel (June 2010 – March 15, 2011) *

Noureddine Zekri Noureddine Zekri (born 1964 in Batna) is an Algerian football manager, who is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Kholood. Managerial career Zekri gained his coaching badges, a UEFA Pro License, in Italy's famous football coaching centre, ...

(March 11, 2011 – July 19, 2011) * Abdelhak Menguellati (June 2011 – Aug 11) *

Abdelhak Benchikha Abdelhak Benchikha (; born 22 November 1963) is an Algerian football coach and former player. Personal life Benchikha was born on 22 November 1963 in the Soustarah neighborhood of Algiers.

(Sept 1, 2011 – Oct 5, 2011) * François Bracci (Oct 23, 2011 – Feb 11, 2012) * Kamel Bouhellal (Feb 10, 2012 – May 5, 2012) *

Abdelkrim Bira Abdelkrim Bira is an Algerian football manager References Living people Algerian football managers AS Marsa managers MC Alger managers EGS Gafsa managers USM Bel Abbès managers NA Hussein Dey managers CA Bordj Bou Arréridj managers ...

(May 4, 2012 – June 30, 2012) * Patrick Liewig (July 1, 2012 – Aug 20, 2012) * Jean-Paul Rabier (Aug 27, 2012 – Sept 23, 2012) *

Djamel Menad Djamel Menad (; 22 July 1960 – 22 March 2025) was an Algerian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Club career Born in El Bayadh, Menad started his playing career with CR Belou ...

(Sept 24, 2012 – May 9, 2013) *

Farid Zemiti Farid Zemiti (born 4 January 1961) is an Algerian football manager. References 1961 births Living people Algerian men's footballers NA Hussein Dey players Algerian football managers NA Hussein Dey managers MC Alger managers RC Arba ...

''(interim)'' (May 10, 2013 – June 30, 2013) *

Alain Geiger Alain Geiger (born 5 November 1960) is a Swiss football manager and a former player. He was last manager at Servette FC, leading them to a Champions League qualifier spot and 2nd in the championship. He played mainly as a centre-back despite bei ...

(July 1, 2013 – Nov 10, 2013) *

Fouad Bouali Fouad Bouali (born 8 February 1960) is an Algerian football manager and the current head coach of JS Saoura Jeunesse Sportive de la Saoura (), known simply as JS Saoura or JSS for short, is an Algerian football club founded in the town of Mé ...

(Nov 18, 2013–14) * Artur Jorge (2014 – October 8, 2015) *

Meziane Ighil Ali Meziane Ighil (born January 12, 1952) is an Algerian former footballer. Club career Ighil spentNA Hussein Dey. He was a member of the NA Hussein Dey team that won the 1979 Algerian Cup and reached the finals of the 1978 African Cup Winners' ...

(October 13, 2015– February 2016) * (Mars, 2016 – May 27, 2016) * Djamel Menad (June, 2016– October, 2016) *

Kamel Mouassa Kamel Mouassa (born 6 February 1950) is an Algerian football manager. References

1950 births Living people Algerian football managers ASM Oran managers MC El Eulma managers JS Kabylie managers DRB Tadjenanet managers USM Annaba managers ...

(October, 2016– July, 2017) *

Bernard Casoni Bernard René Michel Casoni (born 4 September 1961) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a defender. In his playing career he played for Olympique Marseille and France at Euro 1992. Career Managerial career ...

(August, 2017– August, 2018) * Rafik Saifi (September 15, 2018– October 23, 2018) *

Adel Amrouche Adel Amrouche (; born 7 March 1968) is an Algerian football manager and former player who currently manages Rwanda. Having spent a large part of his career in Belgium, where he clinched his UEFA trainer-licence, Amrouche also has Belgian nationa ...

(October, 2018– March 12, 2019) * Bernard Casoni (July, 2019– December 8, 2019) * Mohamed Mekhazni (December 8, 2019– February 5, 2020) *

Nabil Neghiz Nabil Neghiz (; born 25 September 1967) is an Algerian football manager and the current head coach of Olympique Béja. Career Neghiz first managed Mouloudia de Kaous, where he promoted them to the Inter-regions in 2006–2007. Neghiz then man ...

(February 5, 2020 – February 4, 2021) *

Abdelkader Amrani Abdelkader Amrani (; born 3 January 1956) is an Algerian football manager. He coached multiple clubs in Algeria, as well as two stints in the Moroccan and Saudi leagues. He has won the Algerian Cup a total of 5 times with 4 separate clubs and ...

(February 7, 2021 – April 12, 2021) * Nabil Neghiz (April 28, 2021 –August 10, 2021) * Khaled Ben Yahia (September 1, 2021 –June 10, 2022) *

Faruk Hadžibegić Faruk Hadžibegić (; born 7 October 1957) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. Club career During his career, Hadžibegić played for hometown club Sarajevo, Real Betis, Sochaux and Toulouse. He was an important member ...

(July 16, 2022 –September 10, 2022) *

Faouzi Benzarti Faouzi Benzarti (; born 3 January 1950) is a Tunisian professional football manager and former player and current manager. He spent his entire career as a player at his home club US Monastir without any achievements. His coaching career began wh ...

(September 25, 2022 –February, 2023) * Patrice Beaumelle (March 3, 2023 –Dec 16, 2024)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alger, MC Football clubs in Algeria Association football clubs established in 1921 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 clubs 1921 establishments in Algeria CAF Champions League–winning clubs