Taking A Stand
When stadiums became schools for mobilization.
The 5 July 1962 Stadium located in Algiers, Algeria is named for the day Algeria declared independence. (Wikimedia Commons)
The Setif & Guelma massacre, Setif, Algeria (1945)
On V-E Day in French Algeria, in Setif and Guelma, Algerian nationalists organized demonstrations to demand independence of their own. The protests are violently repressed, ending in a massacre of tens of thousands of Algerians. This moment is widely seen as a pivotal turning point in the Algerian nationalist movement and left an indelible mark on both cities. In mourning, women began dyeing their traditional m’layas black instead of wearing them in white. The football clubs of the two cities—ES Sétif and ES Guelma—adopted black and white kits as lasting symbols of grief and remembrance.
Stade Municipal, Ain Temouchent, Algeria (1945)
In December 1945, the police commissioner of Tlemcen submitted a report to the deputy chief of police detailing a politically charged incident during a football match between the indigenous club USM Témouchent and the European team from Béni Saf. According to the report, Muslim supporters from Aïn Témouchent began singing a song titled “Min Djibalina” (“From Our Mountains”) from the stands. The lyrics, openly nationalistic, declared: “From our mountains came the shouts of the free men, calling us to independence, the independence of our nation.”
Stade Omar Hamadi, Algiers, Algeria (1956)
On April 2, 1956, MC Algiers, along with all other indigenous clubs across Algeria, officially halted sporting activities in support of the FLN’s call to boycott domestic championships during the war of independence. The decision followed a violent and politically charged match between MC Algiers and AS Saint-Eugène, a team representing the European settler population. In the aftermath, French police and settlers launched brutal attacks, targeting MCA players and fans in a wave of lynchings. What began as a sporting boycott soon grew to include other fields, such as music and theatre.
Algiers, Algeria (1965)
In June 1965, Algerian president Ahmed Ben Bella invited Pelé and his club Santos FC, to play a pair of friendly matches against the Algerian national team. For Ben Bella, it was a statement of Algeria’s post-independence vitality. On the morning of June 17th, Ben Bella’s own Minister of Defense, Colonel Houari Boumediene, executed a swift and bloodless coup d’état. In a matter of hours, Ben Bella was removed from power, placed under house arrest, and the government was overthrown. Many believe that Boumediene deliberately used the frenzy surrounding Pelé’s arrival and the public excitement around the football festivities as a smokescreen for his plans.
Stade 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria (1977)
During the 1977 Algerian Cup final, JS Kabylie supporters used the high-profile match to assert their Amazigh identity. President Houari Boumediene was in attendance and his “Arab-ization” campaign had alienated many by enforcing Arabic as Algeria’s sole official language and marginalizing Amazigh language and culture. On that day, JSK fans made their stance clear. They chanted “Anwa wigui? Imazighen” (“Who are we? We are Amazigh”), a direct affirmation of their heritage. In a bold act of defiance, they also booed the national anthem, a move that echoed their discontent with state policies and the erasure of their identity.
Bab El Oued, Algiers, Algeria (1988)
Towards the end of the 1980s, a sharp drop in oil prices and imposed austerity measures sparked violent protests. The Ministry of Youth and Sport was torched, as were public buses, bureaus and most famously, the Monoprix in Bab El Oued. The most prized commodity for looters were Adidas Stan Smith’s. That year, the model sold 22 million pairs and was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. For young men, Stan Smith’s represented a level of affluence and openness to the world that was not available to them in the tougher districts of the capital.
Stade de France, Paris, France (2001)
The friendly match between France and Algeria on October 6, 2001, held in Paris, became a stark reminder of the unresolved tensions between the two nations. While some in the political establishment believed that 90 minutes of football could heal historical wounds, the events of the night suggested otherwise. The French national anthem was loudly booed on home soil, and projectiles were thrown from the stands. As Algeria trailed 4–1 to the European and world champions, the match was ultimately interrupted by a large-scale pitch invasion. The chaos served as a powerful symbol of the lingering animosity over Algeria’s colonial past.
Stade des Freres Demane-Debbih, Ain M’lila, Algeria (2018)
In 2018, AS Ain Mlila, a second-division football club in Algeria, stirred controversy by displaying a banner during a match that featured a caricature of Saudi Arabia King Salman and U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by the caption, “Two sides of the same coin.” The image was seen as a critique of the political relationship between the two leaders. The Saudi government expressed outrage over the banner, leading Algeria’s authorities to issue a formal apology in response to the diplomatic backlash.
Algeria (2019)
Ultra songs, once reserved for football stadiums, became the unofficial anthems of the Hirak movement in Algeria. “La Casa Del Mouradia,” by the USM Algiers fan group Ouled El Bahdja, particularly captured the frustration and anger of the Algerian people during the 2019 anti-government protests. The song’s lyrics, which condemned corruption in President Bouteflika’s prolonged rule, resonated deeply with the protesters, reflecting their discontent with the political system. As the Hirak movement spread across the country, other football songs reverberated through the streets, uniting demonstrators and amplifying their calls for change, giving them a powerful collective voice.
