l’heure des comptes a sonné – Le Jeune Indépendant

This Monday 1^er July, an unprecedented event will take place in the courtroom of Sidi M’hamed. Three former presidents of the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) will appear in court, accompanied by federal officials from the last three terms and several former FAF officials. They will be evaluated at the financial and economic center of the Sidi M’hamed court on various financial issues which characterized the operations of the FAF from 2017 to 2023.

Last week in Algiers, the Economic Brigade of the National Security Directorate held a hearing to determine the potential sentences of three former FAF presidents, several federal agency employees, and federal officials and former employees. The investigators’ questions focused primarily on several classified files. The first reportedly concerns the German equipment manufacturer, Adidas, and involves issues of irregular contracts and services. They also investigated compensation received by a former national team coach, who was also head of the federal office. Investigators also reportedly discovered that “bonuses in foreign currency were paid to players of the national A team” and that the housing of federal office employees “was located in hotels near the FAF headquarters in Dely Brahim, rather than at the Sidi Moussa technical center, where they were supposed to be housed, which involved additional and unnecessary expenses.”

The Economic Brigade’s investigation will continue (today?) with a hearing concerning the former head of the FAF finance committee under the presidency of Kheireddine Zetchi. Furthermore, and according to numerous media sources yet to be confirmed, the FAF Financial Inspection Service would have taken the matter to court after having completed an investigation lasting several months into the costs of the local African championships. (CHAN) and the CAN project organized by Algeria.

A decision due to the inability of the officials of the organizing committee, particularly of the CHAN, to justify expenses that would largely exceed the budget allocated by the State to these competitions. These revelations have highlighted serious financial dysfunctions and fraud within the FAF. The legal implications for the former leaders and employees concerned could be significant. The public and the media are closely following these hearings which could have a critical impact on the future governance of the federation and the transparency of financial transactions in Algerian sport in general. As the body in charge of managing Algerian football, the FAF must ensure exemplary management and meet the expectations of supporters and stakeholders in Algerian football. This Monday’s hearing will be an important step in this judicial process. The authorities hope that this incident will shed light on the financial practices of the FAF and strengthen management and governance measures within the organization.