What is the greatest match in the history of men’s African football?

This is the central question we grapple with in the latest season of the African Five-a-side podcast. Over the course of five episodes, we traverse the continent, from Omdurman to Johannesburg to Libreville, in search of the fixtures that most profoundly shaped African football.

Fittingly, Episode 1 opens with an exploration of one of the most politically and emotionally charged rivalries in the game’s African history: Algeria versus Egypt in 2009 and 2010. With both nations desperate to end lengthy absences from the FIFA World Cup (Algeria having last qualified in 1986, and Egypt in 1990), the stage was set for an extraordinary series of confrontations. Over the span of just seven months, the two sides met four times: three times in the context of World Cup qualification and once more in the semi-final of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

These matches were remarkable not only for their intensity on the pitch, but also for the way in which they were consumed and debated. For perhaps the first time in African football history, major fixtures were followed fervently on emerging digital social media platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube, marking a pivotal moment in how football fandom evolved on the continent.

So we invite you to settle in, reflect with us, and revisit one of the most momentous chapters in African football history: the Algeria-Egypt rivalry of 2009.

Watch the latest “Matchday” episode below, subscribe on YouTube, and subscribe to the podcast.