Algeria is a country with a highly mixed culture that has been influenced by the cultures of the Berber people, the Romans, Arabs, Ottomans, French, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Because of that, there remain elements of these different cultures in modern Algeria despite the fact that some of these people groups haven't had a presence in Algeria for over a century. The result of these numerous cultural influences has led to a wide variety of sports that are popular in Algeria, although it has also meant that the country's history has been tumultuous and a struggle for its citizens.
The region that is now Algeria was home to some of the oldest known human settlements, with remnants having been found in that area that are around 200,000 years old. From the original settling Northern Africa until the 8th century A.D., the land was settled by a people group called the Berbers, who are simply the indigenous people of Northern Africa. From the 8th century through the 16th century, Arabs moved into the region and various Arab dynasties ruled the region, although there was no real power structure until the 16th century. During the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire took control of Algeria and Turkish culture first appeared. The Ottomans remained in control until the 1820s when the decline of the Empire, due to rising nationalism and the growth of Christianity throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa, created an opening in Algeria. The French, recognizing this opportunity, launched a war of conquest of Algeria in 1830, and by 1847, they had suppressed any resistance that remained.
France made Algeria into a departement of France and hundreds of thousands of European immigrants moved to Algeria. The colonists modernized much of Algeria, including their economy and agriculture sectors and lived separately from native Algerians. These immigrants were also granted privileges that very few non-Europeans had access to in Algeria, eventually leading to rampant ethnic resentment by the Algerians towards the Europeans. This, in combination with widespread nationalism throughout the world, led to a war of independence in 1954, which the native Algerians won. During and after the war, most Europeans left the country, although the French influences remained and are still evident today. This all in spite of regular attempts by Algerians to reclaim their native culture and Islamic heritage that had been lost through the various conquests. The effects that this history has had on the nation's sports have been great as there are more sports played in Algeria than many would think possible, both native and Western, and sports have served as a way to heal wounds that opened during the fighting.
Sports in Algeria have been traced all the way back to antiquity, the time before the Middle Ages, when nomadic Berbers played a game similar to chess, called El Kerdba or El Khergueba. The country's history with this game has led to modern Algeria being known for playing cards, chess, and checkers, and all of these remain an important role in the nation's culture and some of the world's best chess players come from this area. The first Algerian Olympic gold medalist, then competing under the French flag, was Boughera El Ouafi at the 1928 Summer Games in Amsterdam in the marathon event. This was the first time an African or Arab-born athlete won a gold medal. Algeria competed under its own flag for the first time at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo and won its first medals as a country at the 1984 Los Angeles games, two bronzes. Today, sports-related events in Algeria are governed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The most popular sport in the country is football (soccer), followed by handball, athletic events, volleyball, basketball, and rugby is a growing sport. Games including chess, checkers, dominoes, and card games are all popular and the traditional desert sports of camel and horse racing remain popular.
Football (Soccer)
- Most popular sport in Algeria
- History
- Football was first played on February 5, 1897 when the first club was founded in Oran by European settlers under the name "Club Athletique d'Oran"
- Second club was founded the same year, "Club des Joyeusetes d'Oran" in the same city; these were the first two clubs founded in all of Africa
- In 1898, the first Muslim club, CS Constantine, was founded
- 1911 - French Football Federation created a North African Championship representing the third French division
- The Algerian Football Federation was founded in 1963
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| Algerian Men's National Team |
- Men's Teams
- Established in 1962 after the country gained independence from France
- While under French rule, Algeria was not allowed to establish a national team
- Officially recognized by FIFA in 1963
- They qualified for their first tournament in 1968, the Africa Cup of Nations
- They failed to qualify for another tournament until 1980, beating Egypt in the semifinals and losing to Nigeria in the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations
- The team qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 1982, where they upset reigning European champions, West Germany, and also beat Chile but failed to advance out of the group stage
- They failed to have success from 1990-2008
- Qualified for the World Cup once again in 2010, where they failed to score a single goal and also returned to the top 20 African soccer nations by FIFA
- 2014 World Cup - qualified and was placed in a group with Belgium, Russia, and South Korea; Algeria scored its first World Cup goal since 1986 and advanced to the knockout stage. They lost to Germany in the Round of 16
- Best Finishes
Algerian National Team Logo - FIFA World Cup: 2014 - Round of 16 (Finished 14th)
- Summer Olympics: 1980 - Quarterfinals (Finished 8th)
- Africa Cup of Nations: 1990 - Champions; plus runners-up in 1984, and third place two times (1984/1988)
- African Games: 1978 - Gold Medal
- African Nationals Championship: 2011 (4th Place)
- Mediterranean Games: 1975 - Gold Medal
- Arab Nations Cup: 1988 (5th Place)
- Pan Arab Games: 1985 (3rd Place)
- Best Players
- El Arbi Hillel Soudani (2011-present) - .53 goals/match/20 goals in 38 matches
- Islam Slimani (2012-present) - .52 goals/match/23 goals in 44 matches
- FIFA Ranking
- 35th
- Confederation of African Football (CAF) Ranking
- 3rd
- Women's Team
- Played its first match on May 14, 1998 against France
- Appeared in its first tournament at the 2003 All-Africa Games where they lost all three of
their matches
National Women's Team - The team has yet to qualify for a Women's World Cup or a Summer Olympics
- Finishes
- Africa World Cup of Nations - Haven't made it out of group stages
- African Games: 2011 - Bronze Medal
- Union of North African Football (UNAF) Women's Tournament: 2009 (Runners-up)
- Arab Women's Championship: 2006 - 1st place
- FIFA Ranking
- 82nd
- CAF Ranking
- 10th
Domestic Competitions
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| Algerian Cup Logo |
- Top domestic league is divided into two divisions, both overseen by the Algerian Football Federation
- League was created in 1962
- Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1
- Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 2
- Clubs play in a double round-robin tournament, where the top two clubs qualify for the CAF Champions League, while the third place club qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup, along with the Algerian Cup winner
- Algerian Cup
- Competition pitting Algerian club teams against each other
- Played since 1962
- Most successful clubs are ES Setif, USM Alger, and MC Alger - all three clubs with 8 championships
- CAF Champions League - 4 Algerian clubs have won this tournament
- CAF Confederation Cup - 2 Algerian clubs have been runners-up
Stadiums
- Stade du 5 Juillet 1962 (July 5, 1962 Stadium) - Date of Algerian independence
- Capacity of 80,000
- Plays home to USM Alger, MC Alger, and the Algerian National Team
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| Stade du 5 Juillet 1962 |
Stade 19 Mai 1956- Capacity of 58,000
- Occasionally hosts the national team
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| Stade 19 Mai 1956 |
Handball
- Rules for Playing
- Two teams of 7 players (6 in the field, 1 goalie)
- Players attempt to score points by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal without it touching the ground
- Players can pass, run , or shoot upon receiving the ball
- The ball must be dribbled while running although a player can take up to three steps without dribbling
- Only the goalie can be in the goal area and the ball cannot be passed back to the goalie
- Played on a 40m x 20m court
- A match is made up by two 30 minute halves
- Second most popular spectator and participation sport in Algeria
- Algeria has one of the best handball teams in Africa
- The sport is governed by the Algerian Handball Federation
- AHF was established in 1962
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| Handball Court |
International Competitions
- Men's Team
- Rose to prominence in the 1970s when they won the gold medal twice at the African Games
- They won five consecutive African titles from 1981-1989
- Competed in the World Handball Championships 14 times and the Summer Olympics 4 times
- Best Finishes
- Olympics: 1980 and 1996 (10th place)
- World Championships: 2001 (13th place)
- African Championships: have won the tournament 7 times
Algerian Handball Federation - African Games: Finished 1st four times
- Mediterranean Games: 1987 (1st place)
- International Handball Federation (IHF) Ranking
- 21st
- Women's Team
- First competed in 1978 at the World Championships where they finished 11th
- Best Finishes
- World Championships: 1978 (11th place)
- African Championships: Finished 3rd three times
- All-African Games: 1978 (1st place)
- IHF Ranking
- 40th
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| Algerian National Team |
Domestic Competitions
- Algerian Handball Championship
- Premier professional handball league
- Established in 1962
- 14 teams
- Governed by the African Handball Confederation (CAHB)
- Relegation to National 2
- Teams compete in the Champions League and Cup Winners' Cup
- Most successful club: GS Petroliers (26 titles)
- Most recent champion: JSE Skikda
Athetics (Track and Field)
- Algeria has built a good reputation in middle-distance running events, including the 800m, 1500m, and 5000m events
- The nation has had 9 medal winners in running events, including two female medal winners
- Algeria's first Olympic Gold won by a female athlete occurred in 1992 at the Barcelona Games - Hassiba Boulmerka
- Algeria has won 4 golds, 3 silvers, and 2 bronzes in running events at the Summer Olympics
Struggles Facing Algerian Sports
Although there are female national teams in Algeria, there is still much scrutiny placed on the role of women in athletics, as is common in many Islamic countries. This is upsetting because Algerian women have been successful internationally in competitions that they have been allowed to enter. Hopefully, as restrictions lighten in Islamic nations, that Algerian women will be granted more freedom to participate.
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