Algerian handball towards a dead end?
Goalkeeper Khalifa Ghedbane and winger Riad Chehbour, players of the Algerian national handball team, March 12, 2021. REUTERS - ANNEGRET HILSE
Text by: Farid Achache Follow
4 min
Algerian handball recently lost its coach and is expected to boycott the next African Cup of Nations, which will take place in Morocco in 2022. This could embarrass the national team.
Indeed, Algeria must organize the CAN 2024 handball and could be withdrawn from the tournament by the African Handball Confederation.
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Last October,
Alain Portes
left his post of coach for administrative and diplomatic reasons.
In two years, the former coach of Tunisia (a country with which he won two CAN) had succeeded in advancing the Algerian team which had climbed to the second round of the qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics. 'last summer.
In 2020, under his leadership, the Fennecs were on the CAN podium, a good progression compared to the 2018 edition, which had been very disappointing.
Out in the quarter-final against Angola, the Greens did not reach for the second time in their history the last four of an African Handball Cup after that of 2006.
During the last World Cup in Egypt,
France-Algeria
, the first confrontation between the two selections for 18 years, had not been a walk in the park for the Blues.
Algeria, in progress, had held its own against the French.
Algeria could be deprived of Mondial in 2023
"
Algeria has decided to boycott CAN 2022 in Morocco, because it takes place in Laayoune
(a city in Western Sahara, a zone of tension between the two countries controlled and administered by Morocco but whose independence Algeria supports) ).
However, it qualifies for the 2023 World Cup, of which we would be deprived. Algeria also risks losing the organization of CAN 2024, important before the Paris Olympics
, ”explained Alain Portes at
Midi Libre
. However, Alain Portes had displayed his desire to "
continue the adventure
" at the head of the Algerian handball selection after the World Cup in Egypt at the beginning of the year.
“
When I take a team in hand, my idea is to build and structure a sports project.
For the moment, I feel good with this group and I intend to continue the adventure with Algeria
”, he said.
"
It will be hard to make up for the sleepy years of Algerian handball, but we will do our utmost to detect young players, who will ensure a lasting succession for the Algerian hand
", added the bronze medalist of the Barcelona Games.
"Algerian handball needs help"
🚨Algerian Handball needs help Catastrophic
situation for the National Team a few weeks before CAN and the local championship which has still not resumed.
Do not let this sport die, which has brought so much to Algeria 🇩🇿 pic.twitter.com/4AjcMn8eIt
- Kader Rahim (@KaderRahimm) November 7, 2021
With this boycott of CAN 2022 in Morocco, Algeria risks crossing the desert for the next few years.
CAN 2024 could allow the Fennecs to qualify for the Paris Olympics if they win at home in front of their home crowd (only the winner of the tournament can take their ticket for Paris 2024).
Without CAN on Algerian soil, the operation becomes more complicated with the Olympic qualifying tournament.
Algeria's last participation in the Olympics dates back to 1996 in Atlanta, United States.
“
Algerian handball needs help. Catastrophic situation for the national team a few weeks before CAN
(...)
Let’s not let this sport which has given Algeria so much to die
”, reacts today on Twitter the international Kader Rahim, who plays in France in Dunkirk. "
I launched this appeal for help on social networks because it must be explained that the situation is catastrophic. Nobody talks about it or nobody knows about it. I know it's an important sport in Algeria and it was important to talk about it. It's been almost two years that the championship has stopped in Algeria, two years that the players no longer play, and that in all categories. These are two years lost for everyone, for the young, for the not so young, for adults and for professionals
”, explains Kader Rahim to DZ Foot.
And to add: "
It's been almost fifteen years that I play for the national team, I devoted myself since during all these years, a lot of sacrifices.
We gave our time, our health and our money for Algerian handball.
We do this because we love our country and we love our national team.
Algerian handball has brought so much happiness to Algerians.
"
To make matters worse, the president of the Algerian Handball Federation, Habib Labane, reelected for the 2021-2024 Olympic mandate, is subject to a “temporary” suspension, due to failures in the management of the 2017-2020 mandate. .
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