Ouled El Bahdja

Last updated
Ouled EL Bahdja
Logo of Ouled EL Bahdja.png
Established31 December 2011
(12 years ago)
 (2011-12-31)
Type Supporters' group
MottoUsmiste Conservateur
Stadiums Omar Hamadi Stadium,
Stade du 5 Juillet
Colours  

Ouled EL Bahdja was a supporters' group of USM Alger football fans established in the 1990s by a group of fans from Casbah. Members were known for chanting songs in support of their club, USM Alger. [1] Members wished to remain anonymous, and refused public appearance and media interviews. The group was officially disbanded in 2022, citing problems and harassment facing its members. [2]

Contents

History

... Our intervention [at a commemoration of footballer Rino Della Negra] was mainly focused on the history and history of protest of our club, USM Alger, both on the role played by the club in the war of liberation and on the role played by the fans in the social movements that the country has experienced.

— Ouled EL Bahdja to its members on the 10th anniversary of its founding [3]

Ouled EL Bahdja was founded in the 1990s, the only such supporters' group in Algeria at the time. The group regularly organized tifo among fans at games, both in the Ligue Professionnelle 1 and continental competitions. Support for the group extended into Tunisia and Morocco.

With the advent of Groupe SERPORT, the group suffered legal prosecutions from people from the company's surroundings because of their criticism of the management method, and it increased because of the stadium issue, where Ouled EL Bahdja insisted on returning to its stronghold, the Omar Hamadi Stadium.[ incomprehensible ]

On December 14, 2022, Ouled EL Bahdja announced that it was stopping its activity after 15 years. In a press release, its members stated that the group was unable to continue serving the best interests of USM Alger, and that its disbandment was partially due to the group's legal problems and harassment. [2]

Notable activities

On 21 June 2017, in a match against Zamalek in the CAF Champions League, USM Alger supporters hoisted their biggest banner (spanning between runway 13 and runway 21 of the Stade du 5 Juillet) bearing the phrase "Islamic Union" in Arabic, a reference to the old name of the club, Union Sportive Musulmane d'Alger.

In the match against CAPS United F.C. on the 80th anniversary of the founding of USM Alger, supporters lifted a banner with the number 80 and a logo written in French ("Ensemble"); 80 minutes into the game, fans celebrated with fireworks such as smoke grenades. [4] The tifo of USM Alger fans in the quarterfinals of the 2017 CAF Champions League against Ferroviário Beira (Mozambique) was ranked second in the "Top 10 tifos of the week" by the specialized site La Grinta. The tifo had a banner written in English with "I will try until I die", implying the team's intent to win its first African cup. [5]

Rivalries and friendships

Ouled EL Bahdja fans during the 2013 UAFA Club Cup Final against Al-Arabi SC in Algiers. Stade du 5 juillet-Algerie.jpg
Ouled EL Bahdja fans during the 2013 UAFA Club Cup Final against Al-Arabi SC in Algiers.

The principal and oldest rivalry of Ouled EL Bahdja was against supporters of MC Alger, the other football club in Algiers. Other rivalries included against supporters of CR Belouizdad, JS Kabylie, and USM El Harrach. The group had few local friendships; its only twinning was with the ultras of CS Constantine and WA Tlemcen.

At the international level, there is good friendship with supporters of Wydad AC of Morocco and Espérance de Tunis of Tunisia. Despite the diplomatic relations between Algeria and Morocco, supporters of the two teams are friendly—during the 2017 CAF Champions League, Wydad supporters received free stadium tickets to the game in Algeria, and vice versa for the second match. [6] [7] During the 2019–20 CAF Champions League, Wydad's captain Brahim Nekkach presented a special gift to Algerian footballer Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche: a 77-year-old letter from Union Sportive Musulmane Algéroise that invited Wydad Casablanca to participate in a friendly tournament in Algeria in 1943. [8]

Music production

Ouled EL Bahdja is considered the best in Algeria in the field of sports songs.[ by whom? ] Some of its popular songs have been modified by fans of other clubs in Algeria. From 2018, the band led in political songs about the ruling regime and the owner of the club, Ali Haddad, known for his close relations with Saïd Bouteflika (brother of then-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika). [9] In the song "ULTIMA VERBA", the verse "Down of the state and those who built the highway" criticizes Haddad and his construction company, ETRHB Haddad  [ fr ].

At the start of the 2019–2021 Algerian protests, protesters used the club's song; most notably, "La Casa Del Mouradia" and "Babor Ellouh". [10] On 14 March 2019, Algerian singer Soolking released a song with Ouled EL Bahdja about the protests called "Liberté". [11] [12] The song's video approached 18 million views within its first week on YouTube, [13] and surpassed 100 million views on 10 June 2019. [14]

YearSongMain artistSong title translation (English)
2003"Men Sabni Fi Bologhine" Groupe Milano "Who found me in Bologhine"
2007"Katrou Hmoumi"Groupe Milano"My ambition grew"
2015"Les vrais Supporteurs" Ouled EL Bahdja "Real supporters"
2015"jamais Nkhounou"Ouled EL Bahdja"We will never betray"
2016"WSSAYA FI STOR"Ouled EL Bahdja"Commandments in brief"
2016"HWAK NTI"Ouled EL Bahdja"You breeze"
2018"Babor Elou7"Ouled EL Bahdja"Wood ship"
2018"La Casa Del Mouradia"Ouled EL Bahdja"Palace of El Mouradia"
2018"Y'en a marre" Mouh Milano "I'm sick of it"
2018"Qilouna"Ouled EL Bahdja"Leave us"
2018"Wlid el virage"Ouled EL Bahdja"Son of the curved"
2019"ULTIMA VERBA"Ouled EL Bahdja"Our last shot"
2019"Liberté" Soolking feat. Ouled EL Bahdja"Freedom"
2019"Nar El Hamra" (نار الحمرة)Ouled EL Bahdja"Fire of redness"
2019"Azma w Victoire" (أزمة و فيكتوار)Ouled EL Bahdja"Crisis and victory"
2019"El Bahdja Qanoun"Mouh Milano"Glamor law"
2019"Qoloulou" (قولولو)Mouh Milano"Say to him"
2019"5 Juillet"Ouled EL Bahdja"5 July"
2020"FI HALI NSSIR"Ouled EL Bahdja"I walk with myself or I go my own way"
2021"Wqat 3ssiba" (وقات عصيبة)Ouled EL Bahdja"Tough times"
2023"ERRAHLA" MOUH ATLANTA "Transition"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USM Alger</span> Algerian association football club

Union Sportive de la Médina d'Alger ; known as USM Alger or simply USMA for short, is a football club based in the inner suburbs of Algiers. The club was founded in 1937 and its colours are red and black. Their home stadium, Omar Hamadi Stadium, has a capacity of 10,000 spectators. The club is currently playing in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamza Koudri</span> Algerian footballer

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The Algiers Derby is the name given to matches between MC Alger and USM Alger, both football clubs from Algiers, Algeria. It is the oldest club football derby in Algeria, with the first match being contested in 1940. MC Alger play at the Stade 5 Juillet 1962 and USM Alger at Stade Omar Hammadi. The two clubs have met in every domestic competition, including those held before independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USM Alger in African football</span>

USM Alger, an Algerian professional association football club, has gained entry to Confederation of African Football (CAF) competitions on several occasions. They have represented Algeria in the Champions League on seven occasions, the Confederation Cup on Three separate occasions, the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup five separate occasions, and the now-defunct CAF Cup one occasions. At the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA), they participated several times, They have represented Algeria in the Arab Champions League on five occasions, and the now-defunct Maghreb Cup Winners Cup two occasions.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clasico kabylo-algérois</span> Football derby between USM Alger and JS Kabylie

The clasico kabylo-algérois is the name given to matches between USM Alger and JS Kabylie football clubs from Tizi Ouzou and Algiers, Algeria they are considered one of the most famous clubs in Algeria and their matches are given great attention by the Algerian media, The period between 1996 and 2010 is the most exciting between the two teams because of the great conflict between the heads of the two teams Saïd Allik and Mohand Chérif Hannachi, It is said that the reason for the enmity between the two when Said Alik bringing the star of JS Kabylie and national team at the time Mahieddine Meftah the two teams were both champions and runners-up in the same season five times, including three consecutive times between 2003–04 and 2005–06.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of USM Alger (2010–present)</span>

The history of Union Sportive Médina d'Alger from 2010 to the present day, commonly referred to as USM Alger or simply USMA, is an Algerian professional association football club based in Algiers, whose first team play in the highest tier of Algerian football, the Ligue 1. Established on 5 July 1937. He won the first trophy in 1963 against MC Alger and reached the final of the cup. 17 time, a record, including five consecutive times from 1969 to 1973 and won eight first time in 1981 against ASM Oran and last against MC Alger in 2013 also made the USMA Super Cup twice either on the level of the Continental USM Alger did not achieve any title and the best result is the 2015 CAF Champions League Final The team landed to the second division of several times the first from 1965 to 1969 and, latest of which, the longest from 1990 to 1995 USMA won the UAFA Club Cup in 2013 against the Al-Arabi Club Kuwaiti 3–2 on aggregate as the first international title but is not recognized by FIFA.

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The MC Oran–USM Alger rivalry is a football rivalry between Oran-based MC Oran and USM Alger of Algiers. The two teams have a total of 31 titles from the Ligue Professionnelle 1, Algerian Cup, League Cup and Super Cup at the local level, Regionally the Arab Champions League, the Arab Cup Winners' Cup and the Arab Super Cup, both of which do not have continental titles and the best participation was the final of the CAF Champions League once for each club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USM Alger supporters</span>

USM Alger Supporters have special songs for each rival club. Their repertoire also includes sociopolitical songs with committed lyrics such as “Qilouna!”, La casa del Mouradia, Babur ellouh, etc. These songs resonate widely among the Algerian population. In 2019, during the protests that Algeria experienced, the songs of the group Ouled El Bahdja were covered by demonstrators across the country, thus propelling them to the forefront of the international scene. Some ultra groups existed such as the “I Rossi Algeri” or the “Ultras Diablos”, but they disbanded around 2010.

References

  1. "Je n'ai connu que Bouteflika comme président. Je veux que ça change". elwatan.com. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Le groupe Ouled El Behdja, auteur de « La Casa d'El Mouradia » tire sa révérence". radio-m.net. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  3. "2011 - 2021 : 10 ans d'Ouled El Bahdja". Facebook . 31 December 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  4. @USMAofficiel (July 10, 2017). "Tifo + Craquage OULED EL BAJDJA VS..." (Tweet). Retrieved 7 February 2017 via Twitter.
  5. "Top 10 des Tifos de la semaine: le tifo usmiste 2eme derrière celui de Fenerbahce". radioalgerie.dz. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  6. "CAF Champions League : Les supporter du Wydad remercient les Algérois pour leur accueil !". fennecfootball.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  7. "CAF LIGUE DES CHAMPIONS : WAC-USMA À GUICHETS FERMÉS". africatopsports.com. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  8. "الوداد يهدي اتحاد العاصمة وثيقة تاريخية". kooora.com. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  9. "Ali Haddad : "Oui, je suis proche des responsables militaires et civils"". algerie-focus.com. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  10. "Les stades, ces tribunes politiques" [Stadiums, these political forums]. liberte-algerie.com (in French). 12 July 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  11. "Soolking revient avec un nouveau clip intitulé »Liberté » !" [Soolking is back with a new clip called "Freedom"!]. algerie360.com (in French). 14 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  12. "One, two, three, viva l'Algérie (2/2) L'hymne de la révolte" [One, two, three, viva l’Algérie (2/2) The hymn of revolt]. franceculture.fr (in French). 15 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  13. "En Algérie, Liberté de Soolking devient l'hymne des manifestations anti-Bouteflika" [In Algeria, Freedom of Soolking becomes the anthem of anti-Bouteflika protests]. bfmtv.com (in French). 21 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  14. "En You Tube: Le clip " Liberté " de Soolking dépasse la barre des 100 millions de vues" [You Tube: Soolking's "Liberty" Clip Exceeds 100 Million Views]. Lechodalgerie-dz.com (in French). 11 June 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.