Sports in Algeria

What sports are played in Algeria?

The Comité Olympique et Sportif Algérien's own site, with any list of member federations, could not be retrieved.

Olympic entries. Olympedia's page for Algeria at the 1980 Summer Games lists entrants in athletics, boxing, fencing, football, handball, judo, swimming, weightlifting and wrestling, with the football team placed =5 and the handball team 10th.^[10] Olympedia's medals-by-sport table for ALG carries rows in athletics, boxing, artistic gymnastics and judo.^[1]

Mediterranean Games. The International Committee of the Mediterranean Games (ICMG) reported on 31 May 2022 that the Oran Games had “24 sports and 244 events” on their programme.^[28]

Traditional games. Article 56 of Loi n° 13-05 provides that traditional games and sports are organised in clubs and wilaya leagues grouped within “la fédération nationale des jeux et sports traditionnels”.^[11]

What is the most popular spectator sport in Algeria?

No measured ranking of spectator sports in Algeria was retrieved, and no season attendance total for any league was retrieved. The proxies below concern football.

Attendance at one match. CAF reported that the final of the African Nations Championship (CHAN), played in Algiers on 4 February 2023, was played “in front of 39,120 spectators”.^[26] That is a single match, not a season figure.

Broadcaster carriage. Algérie Presse Service (APS) reported on 4 June 2026, citing a statement by the public television company, that the company had agreed with beIN Sports, which it describes as holder of the 2026 World Cup broadcasting rights, to acquire “les droits de retransmission des matchs de la sélection nationale algérienne ainsi que d'un certain nombre d'autres rencontres de la compétition mondiale”.^[34] TSA, citing the broadcaster's statement on social media, reported in June 2026: “La Télévision algérienne a réussi à obtenir les droits de retransmission de 13 matchs de la Coupe du monde 2026.”^[35]

These are different measures and not a ranking.

How is sport organised in Algeria?

The statute. The Journal Officiel de la République algérienne, French edition, n° 39 of 31 July 2013, publishes “Loi n° 13-05 du 14 Ramadhan 1434 correspondant au 23 juillet 2013 relative à l'organisation et au développement des activités physiques et sportives”. Article 1 reads: “La présente loi définit les principes, les objectifs et les règles générales organisant et régissant le développement des activités physiques et sportives ainsi que les moyens de leur promotion.”^[11]

The Olympic committee in the statute. Article 101 reads: “Le comité national olympique est une association reconnue d'utilité publique et d'intérêt général.” Article 102 opens: “Le comité national olympique est constitué et régi par ses règlements et ses statuts dans le respect des dispositions de la charte olympique.”^[11] The text read for these articles is the 2013 original.

The amendment. The Journal Officiel n° 52 of 9 August 2023 publishes Ordonnance n° 23-01 of 5 August 2023 “modifiant et complétant” Loi n° 13-05. Its article 2 lists the articles it rewrites: 11, 13, 22, 23, 24, 60, 91, 161, 162, 189, 190, 192, 193, 194, 220 and 225. Articles 1, 15, 55, 56, 101 and 102 are not among them. No consolidated text from the Journal Officiel was retrieved, and a later amendment was not found.^[12]

The Olympic committee. Olympedia names the committee as the Comité Olympique et Sportif Algérien and states: “Algeria formed a National Olympic Committee on 18 October 1963, which was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 27 January 1964, at the IOC session in Innsbruck.” Its site could not be retrieved.^[1]

Football. CAF's page for the Fédération Algérienne de Football gives the federation as founded in 1962, affiliated to FIFA in 1963 and affiliated to CAF in 1964.^[13] FIFA's own page for the association, which names it the Algerian Football Association, prints no affiliation year.^[14] The federation's own site could not be retrieved.

Judo. Olympedia's 2008 rows list Algeria's two Olympic judo medals, set out below; the national federation is the Fédération Algérienne de Judo.^[6]

What are the main domestic leagues and competitions?

Professional football. The organiser's site could not be retrieved. La Gazette du Fennec reported on 4 August 2026 that “la Ligue de football professionnel (LFP) a officiellement dévoilé le calendrier complet de la saison 2026/2027” of the Ligue 1 Mobilis, and that “Du 27 au 29 août, les 16 équipes engagées disputeront la première journée du championnat.” It named “le MC Alger, tenant du titre”; that is a single secondary source.^[33]

African club competition. Algerian clubs enter CAF's interclub competitions. The 2023/24 CAF Confederation Cup semi-final between USM Alger and RS Berkane of Morocco went to CAF's organising committee, its Appeal Board and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

CAF stated on 21 April 2024 that the first leg in Algiers “did not take place as scheduled” and that “The matter will be referred to the competent bodies.”^[22] On 26 April 2024 the CAF Appeal Board ruled: “The Appeal filed by USM Alger against the CAF Organizing Committee for the Interclubs Competitions decision dated 24 April 2024 is dismissed.” It upheld that committee decision, whose content the published ruling does not give.^[23] On 2 May 2024 CAF stated that its interclub organising committee had sanctioned USM Alger with a “forfait de 0-3” for the second leg scheduled on 28 April 2024, referred the matter to the Jury Disciplinaire, and declared RS Berkane qualified for the final.^[24]

CAS announced on 26 February 2025 that it upheld the appeal of the Fédération Algérienne de Football against CAF, the Moroccan federation and RS Berkane. Its media release states that the panel found the map printed on RS Berkane's shirts to be political content contrary to CAF's equipment regulations and the Laws of the Game, and that only the federation had exhausted the remedies available before the appeal, so USM Alger's own appeal was inadmissible. It states: “The Contested Decision by the CAF Appeals Jury to maintain the approval of the shirts is annulled.” It also states: “The CAS award has no effect on the results of the CAF Confederations Cup 2023/24.”^[25]

How has Algeria performed at the Olympic Games?

All figures in this section are Olympedia's, from its Medals by Games and Medals by sport tables for the code ALG. Olympedia prints no totals row under either table.^[1]

Editions and codes. Olympedia's participation table lists Algeria at the Summer Games of 1964, 1968 and 1972 and at every Summer Games from 1980 to 2024, and at the Winter Games of 1992, 2006 and 2010. Its narrative states that Algeria “first competed officially at the 1964 Olympic Games”. The code is ALG throughout, and there is no 1906 row and no art-competition row.^[1]

Before 1962. Olympedia's narrative states that the Olympic marathon winners Bouguera El Ouafi (1928) and Alain Mimoun (1956) “were both Algerians representing France”; its ALG tables carry no row for either result.^[1]

Rows by Games, gold, silver, bronze. 1984: 0, 0, 2. 1992: 1, 0, 1. 1996: 2, 0, 1. 2000: 1, 1, 3. 2008: 0, 1, 1. 2012: 1, 0, 0. 2016: 0, 2, 0. 2024: 2, 0, 1. The table has no row for 1964 to 1980, 1988, 2004 or 2020, and no Winter Games row.^[1]

By sport. Athletics 4, 3, 3; boxing 2, 0, 5; artistic gymnastics 1, 0, 0; judo 0, 1, 1.^[1]

Youth rows. The table's 2018 Youth Olympic row and the separate Youth Olympic medals-by-sport table are not Olympic Games results and are not included above.^[1]

Which athletes and teams are internationally recognised?

Football. RSSSF records the Africa Cup of Nations final of 16 March 1990 as Algeria 1, Nigeria 0, with a goal by Oudjani.^[20] It records the final of 19 July 2019 in Cairo as Senegal 0, Algeria 1, after a 2-1 semi-final win over Nigeria on 14 July.^[21] FIFA's page for the association lists the FIFA Arab Cup as won in 2021.^[14]

FIFA World Cup. FIFA's page gives the association five World Cup appearances, its best performance as “Round of 16” in 2014 and its last as “Round of 32” in 2026.^[14] The match results that follow are RSSSF's. In 1982 it records West Germany 1, Algeria 2 in Gijón on 16 June, Algeria 0, Austria 2 on 21 June and Algeria 3, Chile 2 on 24 June, with Algeria third of four in the group table.^[15] In 1986 it records Algeria 1, Northern Ireland 1 on 3 June, Brazil 1, Algeria 0 on 6 June and Algeria 0, Spain 3 on 12 June, with Algeria fourth.^[16] In 2010 it records Algeria 0, Slovenia 1 on 13 June, England 0, Algeria 0 on 18 June and USA 1, Algeria 0 on 23 June, with Algeria fourth.^[17] In 2014 it records Belgium 2, Algeria 1 on 17 June, South Korea 2, Algeria 4 on 22 June and Algeria 1, Russia 1 on 26 June, with Algeria second, then Germany 2, Algeria 1 after extra time in Porto Alegre on 30 June.^[18] In 2026 it records Argentina 3, Algeria 0 on 16 June, Jordan 1, Algeria 2 on 22 June and Algeria 3, Austria 3 on 27 June, with Algeria third, then Switzerland 2, Algeria 0 in Vancouver on 2 July.^[19]

Athletics. Olympedia's rows list Hassiba Boulmerka as gold medallist in the women's 1,500 metres in 1992.^[3] They list Noureddine Morceli as gold medallist in the men's 1,500 metres in 1996.^[4] They list Nouria Mérah-Benida as gold medallist in the women's 1,500 metres in 2000.^[5] They list Taoufik Makhloufi as gold medallist in the men's 1,500 metres in 2012.^[7] For 2016 they list him as silver medallist in the men's 800 and 1,500 metres.^[8] They list Djamel Sedjati as bronze medallist in the men's 800 metres in 2024.^[9]

Boxing. Olympedia's 1984 rows list bronze for Mohamed Zaoui at middleweight and Mustapha Moussa at light-heavyweight.^[2] Its 1992 rows list Hocine Soltani as featherweight bronze medallist, and its 1996 rows list him as lightweight gold medallist.^[3][4] Its 2024 rows list Imane Khelif as gold medallist in the women's welterweight.^[9]

Judo and gymnastics. Olympedia's 2008 rows list Amar Benikhlef as silver medallist at men's middleweight and Soraya Haddad as bronze medallist at women's half-lightweight.^[6] Its 2024 rows list Kaylia Nemour as gold medallist on the women's uneven bars.^[9]

What major international competitions has Algeria hosted?

Africa Cup of Nations 1990. RSSSF's page for the 1990 tournament gives Algeria as host and records the final of 16 March 1990 as Algeria 1, Nigeria 0.^[20]

Mediterranean Games. The ICMG's list of editions gives Algiers for 1975 and Oran for 2022.^[27] For the Oran Games, the ICMG announced on 14 April 2020: “The Mediterranean Games 'Oran 2022' will be held from June 25 to July 5, 2022.” It stated that the ICMG, the organising committee, then named “Oran 2021”, and the Algerian Government had agreed the new dates, after the postponement of other events during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[29] On 31 May 2022 it reported: “A total of 3434 athletes from 26 countries, will take part in the 19th edition of Mediterranean Games, from June 25 to July 6.”^[28] Those are the organiser's pre-Games figures.

African Games. The African Union Sports Council, which states that the Games are “an exclusive property of the African Union”, lists two editions of the African Games in Algiers: “The third edition of the All-African Games was in Algiers, 13-28 July 1978” and “The ninth edition of the All-African Games was in Algiers, 11-23 July 2007”.^[36]

African Nations Championship. CAF reported on 4 February 2023 that Algeria, as hosts, lost the CHAN final in Algiers 5-4 on penalties to Senegal at the Nelson Mandela Stadium, after a goalless match.^[26]

What are Algeria's main sporting rivalries?

The counts that follow come from a single secondary statistics site, 11v11, not from any federation's record, and are the Algerian side of each record as 11v11 prints it. 11v11 publishes won, drawn and lost only.

Egypt. 11v11 prints Algeria's record as “Games won: 10 | Games drawn: 8 | Games lost: 7”. It lists two FIFA World Cup qualifiers of November 2009: Egypt 2, Algeria 0 on 14 November, and Algeria 1, Egypt 0 on 18 November. Its latest entry is a 1-1 friendly on 16 October 2023.^[30]

Morocco. 11v11 prints “Games won: 8”, “Games drawn: 12” and “Games lost: 17”. Its first entry is a 4-0 Moroccan win in a friendly on 28 February 1963, and its latest is the FIFA Arab Cup match of 11 December 2021, listed as 2-2 and marked as an Algerian win.^[31] The club decisions of 2024 and 2025 involving USM Alger and RS Berkane are set out under domestic competitions above.

Tunisia. 11v11 prints “Games won: 23”, “Games drawn: 17” and “Games lost: 16”. Its list opens with an entry of 13 November 1932, a friendly it files as Tunisia 1, Algeria 0, dated before the federation's founding year as CAF gives it. Its latest entry is a 1-1 friendly on 20 June 2023.^[32][13]

What is the role of school and university sport?

Physical education. Article 15 of Loi n° 13-05 states: “L'enseignement de l'éducation physique et sportive est obligatoire à tous les niveaux de l'éducation nationale et de la formation et de l'enseignement professionnels.” The article goes on to place its teaching under the ministers for education and vocational training, with programmes set in coordination with the minister for sport.^[11]

School and university sport. Ordonnance n° 23-01 rewrote article 22. In its 2023 wording, article 22 states: “Le sport scolaire, le sport universitaire et le sport dans le milieu de la formation et de l'enseignement professionnels, consistent en l'organisation et l'animation de la pratique des activités sportives au sein des établissements de l'éducation nationale, de l'enseignement supérieur et de la formation et de l'enseignement professionnels.” Its second paragraph provides that these sports are organised in a competition system, in school, university and vocational-training sports associations “gérées par leurs fédérations sportives respectives”.^[12]

Were any sports invented in Algeria?

No federation, government instrument or standard reference retrieved claims that a sport was invented or codified in Algeria.

Traditional games in the statute. Article 55 of Loi n° 13-05 defines traditional games and sports as “des activités physiques et sportives puisées du patrimoine culturel national”. It provides that the State, local authorities and any public or private person “veillent à la préservation, au développement et à la valorisation des jeux et sports traditionnels”.^[11] Article 56 charges a national federation of traditional games and sports with, among other things, their safeguarding, organisation and promotion, and with organising events and festivals.^[11] The articles read name no particular game, and none declares a national sport.