National Liberation Football (2020)

Foot de Libération Nationale

In 2009, the Algerian team won their match against Egypt, thus qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, after significant tensions during the first leg, which included the stoning of the Algerian players' bus. The artist Amina Menia recalls that the collective euphoria of these celebrations seemed almost disproportionate and unreal, reminiscent of the popular jubilation surrounding Algeria's independence in 1962. She draws a parallel between political and sporting history through the use of archival footage and two interviews, one with Rachid Mekhloufi, star of AS Saint-Étienne and an emblematic figure of Algerian football. In the second interview, Slimane Zeghidour, a writer and journalist, offers a detached and critical perspective on the impact of football on the masses. By tracing these links, she examines the relationships between national representation, sense of belonging, fervor and the destiny of a community.