Sport in Algeria dates back to antiquity. In theAurès Mountains, people played games such as El Kherdba or El khergueba (achess variant). Playing cards,checkers and chess games are part of Algerian culture. Horse racing (fantasia) andrifle shooting are among the recreational traditions of Algeria.[1]
The first Algerian, Arab, and African gold medalist wasBoughera El Ouafi in themarathon at the1928 Olympics of Amsterdam. The second Algerian medalist was marathon runnerAlain Mimoun, who won the marathon at the1956 Summer Olympics inMelbourne.
TheMinistry of Youth and Sports in Algeria manages sport-related activities.
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The most convenient and the most popular sport in Algeria isassociation football. During theAlgerian War, theFLN football team (Le Onze de l'indépendance), consisting of players who later joined theNational Liberation Front (FLN) (an Algerian independence movement), participated in several tournaments and sports events.[citation needed]
TheAlgerian Football Federation (AFF) is an association of Algerian football clubs that organizes national competitions and international matches for theAlgeria national football team.[2] The AFF organized the meetings of theAlgeria Championship of football, a professional league of 16 clubs, theAlgerian Cup, and is also a member of theConfederation of African Football. Notable Algerian players in the history of the sport include:Lakhdar Belloumi,Rachid Mekhloufi,Hassen Lalmas,Rabah Madjer,Salah Assad andDjamel Zidane.[citation needed]
TheAlgerian national team qualified for theFIFA World Cup in1982,1986,2010 and most recently2014. In 1982, the national team came close to progressing into the second round, but was eliminated after Germany beat Austria in the so-called "non-aggression pact of Gijón". In 2014 Algeria proceeded to theRound of 16 for the first time after finishing in second place inGroup H. Additionally, several football clubs have won continental and international trophies, such as the clubsES Sétif andJS Kabylia.[citation needed]
Handball is the second most popular spectator and participation sport in Algeria.Algeria's national handball team has seven titles at theMen's African Championship, four gold medals at theAfrican Games and many other titles with many participations in theWorld Men's Handball Championship and in theOlympic Games. The national clubs are also strong and win many international titles.
Algeria, along with Tunisia, is one of the best African malehandball teams. The men's national handball team has won several titles including in the African Championship in 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1996 and 2014. The women's national handball team has also triumphed in the tournaments of the African Championship and the Pan Arab games.
Algeria has a strong reputation inmiddle-distance running (800m, 1500m, 5000m); it has had many winners in theIAAF World Championships and gold medals in theOlympic Games. Several men and women have been champions in athletics since the 1990s includingNoureddine Morceli,Hassiba Boulmerka,Nouria Mérah-Benida, andTaoufik Makhloufi — all specialists in middle-distance running.[3]
Algeria has had many African and world champions in boxing, and has won many medals in boxing at theOlympic Games. The country's boxing champions have includedMustapha Moussa,Mohamed Bouchiche,Mohamed Benguesmia,Loucif Hamani, andHocine Soltani, the Olympic champion in Atlanta 1996.
Notable cyclists from Algeria have includedAbdelkader Merabet,Hichem Chaabane,Redouane Chabaane,Abdel Basset Hannachi,Azzedine Lagab,Eddy Lembo andYoucef Reguigui.
Algeria has had tens of thousands ofVovinam practitioners, some of whom competed in the World Championship of 2011 inHo Chi Minh City. In judo,Amar Benikhlef andAli Idir have won theAfrican Judo Championships several times in their categories. Several women includingSoraya Haddad andSalima Souakri have won medals at the African Championship of Nations of Women's Judo and at the Olympic Games.
Algeria's volleyball team qualified to the2010 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship. They have won titles in several international competitions in the past.
Basketball is another important sport in Algeria; however, the country has won few international titles.
Freestyle swimmer and African and Arabic championSalim Iles competed in the 2004 Olympics.
Another growing sport in Algeria isrugby union. The Algeria national rugby team played their first official game on 18 December 2015 since the creation of theAlgerian Rugby Federation. The match was played against the Tunisian rugby union team, to which they won 16–6. This was also the first international match played on Algerian soil (Oran), which was televised on the Algerian channel Canal Algérie in the country for the first time.[citation needed]
Ice Hockey in Algeria is governed byHockey Algeria who became members of theIIHF in 2019.[citation needed]
Below the list of the Best Awards sounding of athletes of the year organized by theAlgeria Press Service (APS) since 1977, in collaboration with the national press.[4]
Below the list of the Best Awards sounding of athletes of the year organized by theAl Fadjr since 2020, in collaboration with the national press.
| Year | Athlete | Sport |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Abdelkarim Fergat | Wrestling |
| 2021 | Yasser Triki | Athletics |
| Imane Khelif | Boxing |
| Summer Olympic Sports |
|
|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Sports |
|
| Other IOC Recognised Sports |
|
| Paralympics and Disabled Sports | |
| Others Sports |
|
