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Algeria: Football flags

JSK

Algerian Football Federation
Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (JSK)
MC Algiers (Mouloudia Club d'Alger - MCA)

See also:

Algeria

Algerian Football Federation

Flag of the Algerian Football Federation - Image by Ivan Sache, 30 June 2019

The flag of the Algerian Football Federation (photo, photo) is white with the federation's logo.

Tomislav Šipek, 30 June 2019

Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie

Flag of JSK - Image by Ivan Sache, 4 May 2012

Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (Kabylia Sports Youth - JSK), based in Tizi-Ouzou, the capital of Kabylia, is one of the most famous and successful football clubs in Africa.
In 1928, the lawyer Sidi Saïd Hanafi (1889-1944) founded Rapide Club de Tizi-Ouzou as a Muslim club expected to coexist with Olympique de Tizi-Ozou, the colonist's club; however, the statutes of the new club were not approved by the French colonial authorities. In 1943, Hanafi applied again for the creation of a club named Association Sportive de Kabylie, which was stopped again by Hanafi's death.

JSK, eventually registered on 2 August 1946, won in 1969, the Second League and advanced to the First League, where it has been playing since then. The club won its first national title in 1973, being renamed the same year Jamiat Sari' Kawkabi upon order of President of the Republic Houari Bouemediene. In 1977, the club's name was changed to Jeunesse Électronique de Tizi-Ouzou (Tizi-Ouzou Electronic Youth - JET), winning in 1982 both the national championship and the African Cup of Champions Clubs (undefeated). The club readopted its original name in 1989.

With 14 wins in the Algerian League (the last one in 2008) and five wins in the Algerian Cup (the last one in 2011), as well as two wins in the Africa Champion's League (1981-1990), one win in the African Cup Winner's Cup (1995), and three wins in the CAF Cup (200-2002), the JSK is the most successful club in Algeria. Moussa Saïb (b. 1969), who played for JSK in 1989-1992 and 2003-2004 (and also for AJ Auxerre, 153 matches in 1992-1997, 25 goals) was awarded the Algerian Ballon d'Or in 2004. Other famous players of the JSK are Naçer Bouiche (b. 1963; played 1983-1990, 109 goals), Tarek Hadj Adlane (b. 1965, played 1991-1996, 112 goals), Hamid Berguiga (b. 1974, played 2001-2006, 50 goals) and Farouk Belkaïd (b. 1977, played 1998-2005, 23 goals). Mahieddine Khalef (b. 1944) played for the JSK in 1968-1970 and 1971-1974 and coached the club in 1976-1990, together with the Polish coach Stefan Zywotko (b. 1920). Khalef also coached the Algerian national team in 1979-1984; in the 1982 World Cup, Algeria defeated Germany but was eliminated following an infamous arrangement between Austria and Germany.
JSK is a main element of the Kabyle identity in Algeria, and, more broadly, of the Berber identity in North Africa and worldwide.

The flag of JSK is horizontally divided green-yellow-green (1:2:1).
The colors of the clubs are yellow and green, therefore the two nicknames of the club, "The Canaris" and "The Yellow and Green".
The first club's colors of the club, however, were red and green. When JSK was created in 1946, the French colonial authorities preferred supporting Olympique de Tizi-Ouzou; JSK was helped by the two main Muslim clubs of Algiers, USM Algiers and MC Algiers, which offered cloth sports to their own colors.
Yellow and green jerseys were used for the first time by JSK in the final of the African League 1981, won against AS Vita Club. The two colors recall the etymology of the name of Tizi-Ouzou, in Berber thizi n'wezzu, meaning "The Brooms' Pass"; therefore, yellow represents the broom's flowers while green represents the broom's stems.
[JSK mon amour blog]

JSK supporter's flags - Images by Ivan Sache, 4 May 2012

The club's supporters also use flags vertically divided yellow-green (photo, 19 April 2011), horizontally divided yellow-green (photo, 5 August 2010).
A photo taken in Tizi-Ouzou shows supporters of the JSK celebrating the 13th win of the club un the Algerian League (2006) by holding, from a car, a flag vertically divided yellow-green-yellow with a letter ezza roughly painted in red.

Ivan Sache, 4 May 2012

MC Algiers

Flag of MAC, two versions - Images by Ivan Sache, 7 December 2019

MC Algiers (Mouloudia Club d'Alger - MCA) was established on 7 August 1921, being the oldest Algerian football club still active, therefore its nickname of "doyen" ("Elder").
The name Mouloudia refers to the Mouloud religious festival, celebrated by the Muslims on 7 August that year to commemorate the Prophet's birth. This interpretation, however, is disputed and considered by some as forged, since the club was officially registered on 31 August, as stated by the French official gazette.
Aouf Hamoud was commissioned by a group of young Muslim Algerians from Algiers Casbah to discuss the establishment of a football club with their fellows from Bab-el-Oued, another historical borough. At the time, Muslims, strongly discriminated, were not allow to participate the same activities as the colonists of European origin.

The new club was founded in the backroom of the Benchère (today, Yahi) café. The club's colors were selected as green, for Islam and aspiration of the Algerian people to build a nation, and red, for commitment to the homeland and sacrifice. Then the only Muslim football club in Algeria, MCA gained an increased popularity that puzzled the colonial authorities. All means were used to prevent it to access the League of Honor (top division): the French press campaigned against the club, while Pierre Bordes (1870-1943), Governor of Algeria (1927-1930) obliged the Muslim clubs to hire at least two players of European origin.
It took 14 years to MCA to enter the League of Honor, in the 1935-1936 season, following a legendary play-off won over Olympique Marengo (today, Hadjout): after two draws, MCA eventually won the third match, 2-1.
MCA won the Algerian League in 1943-1944; The next feat of the club was a win 7-0 against JSK on 4 October 1951. In 1956, MCA withdrew from all competitions after the call to boycott emitted by the National Liberation Front.

In 1963, one year after the proclamation of independence, MCA was defeated by USMA, 3-0, in the final of the regional championship but advanced to the first edition of the national championship, played in 1964-1965. The club was relegated for three years to the Second League by decision of the Minister of Youth and Sports.
The 1970s was the gilded decade of MCA, which won the Algerian Cup in 1970. In the 1975-1976 season, MCA won a third national championship, a third Algerian Cup, and a first African Champions' League. Renamed to MPA (Mouloudia des Pétroliers d'Alger), the club won in 1977-1978 a fourth national title, and a fifth the next season. MCA then declined and had to wait until 1999 to win another national title.
[Mounira Amine-Seka. Le Mouloudia Club d'Alger voit le jour]

MCA supporters used in 2014 a flag horizontally divided red-green-red-green with the club's emblem in the center (photo), here the emblem used by the club in the late 2000s. The star represents the win in the African Champions' League.
The flag hoisted in 2016 in the club's headquarters (photo) is vertically divided green-white-red-green with the club's emblem in the center, here the emblem used from 2010 to 2018, before the re-establishment of the original emblem.

Ivan Sache, 7 December 2019