The Ultimate Goal: Independence

Delve into the story of the Algerian footballers who traded European pitches to join the fight for independence. In 1958, in the midst of the War of Independence, talented players secretly left their clubs to form the FLN team – a living symbol of the Algerian people's struggle. This clandestine team, banned by FIFA, served as a mouthpiece for the Algerian provisional government until 1962. Footballer Rachid Mekhloufi explained: “This departure of the best Algerian players playing in France was no accident. With the control of the media, few French people knew what was happening in Algeria. The FLN representatives in France were ahead of the curve in terms of publicity. Truly ahead of the curve, because a move like this allowed the French people and the rest of the world to open their eyes.”

Cast

Mohamed Boumezrag Self (archive footage) Mokhtar Arribi Self (archive footage) Mohamed Allam Self (archive footage) Rachid Mekhloufi Self Mustapha Zitouni Self (archive footage) Kaddour Bekhloufi Self (archive footage) Abdelaziz Ben Tifour Self (archive footage) Abderrahmane Boubekeur Self (archive footage) Abdelhamid Kermali Self (archive footage) Abdelhamid Bouchouk Self (archive footage) Amar Rouaï Self (archive footage) Saïd Brahimi Self (archive footage)

Metadata from the source database.