Football The most convenient and the most popular sport in Algeria is
association football. During the
Algerian War, the
FLN football team (Le Onze de l'indépendance), consisting of players who later joined the
National Liberation Front (FLN) (an Algerian independence movement), participated in several tournaments and sports events. The
Algerian Football Federation (AFF) is an association of Algerian football clubs that organizes national competitions and international matches for the
Algeria national football team. The AFF organized the meetings of the
Algeria Championship of football, a professional league of 16 clubs, the
Algerian Cup, and is also a member of the
Confederation of African Football. Notable Algerian players in the history of the sport include:
Lakhdar Belloumi,
Rachid Mekhloufi,
Hassen Lalmas,
Rabah Madjer,
Salah Assad and
Djamel Zidane. The
Algerian national team qualified for the
FIFA World Cup in
1982,
1986,
2010 and most recently
2014. 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 the
Round of 16 for the first time after finishing in second place in
Group H. Additionally, several football clubs have won continental and international trophies, such as the clubs
ES Sétif and
JS Kabylia.
Handball Handball is the second most popular spectator and participation sport in Algeria.
Algeria's national handball team has seven titles at the
Men's African Championship, four gold medals at the
African Games and many other titles with many participations in the
World Men's Handball Championship and in the
Olympic Games. The national clubs are also strong and win many international titles. Algeria, along with Tunisia, is one of the best African male
handball 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.
Athletics Algeria has a strong reputation in
middle-distance running (800m, 1500m, 5000m); it has had many winners in the
IAAF World Championships and gold medals in the
Olympic Games. Several men and women have been champions in athletics since the 1990s including
Noureddine Morceli,
Hassiba Boulmerka,
Nouria Mérah-Benida, and
Taoufik Makhloufi — all specialists in middle-distance running.
Boxing Algeria has had many African and world champions in boxing, and has won many medals in boxing at the
Olympic Games. The country's boxing champions have included
Mustapha Moussa,
Mohamed Bouchiche,
Mohamed Benguesmia,
Loucif Hamani, and
Hocine Soltani, the Olympic champion in Atlanta 1996.
Cycling Notable cyclists from Algeria have included
Abdelkader Merabet,
Hichem Chaabane,
Redouane Chabaane,
Abdel Basset Hannachi,
Azzedine Lagab,
Eddy Lembo and
Youcef Reguigui.
Martial arts Algeria has had tens of thousands of
Vovinam practitioners, some of whom competed in the World Championship of 2011 in
Ho Chi Minh City. In judo,
Amar Benikhlef and
Ali Idir have won the
African Judo Championships several times in their categories. Several women including
Soraya Haddad and
Salima Souakri have won medals at the African Championship of Nations of Women's Judo and at the Olympic Games.
Volleyball Algeria's volleyball team qualified to the
2010 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship. They have won titles in several international competitions in the past.
Basketball Basketball is another important sport in Algeria; however, the country has won few international titles.
Other sports Freestyle swimmer and African and Arabic champion
Salim Iles competed in the 2004 Olympics. Another growing sport in Algeria is
rugby union. The Algeria national rugby team played their first official game on 18 December 2015 since the creation of the
Algerian 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. Ice Hockey in Algeria is governed by
Hockey Algeria who became members of the
IIHF in 2019. ==Major sport events hosted==