Jamal Belmadi, the coach of the Algerian national football team, launched a blistering attack on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) just days before the commencement of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
In a press conference held on Sunday evening to unveil the behind-the-scenes of Algeria’s upcoming camp ahead of their participation in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Belmadi expressed his dissatisfaction with the treatment his team and certain events received, citing the case of USM Alger and Riyad Mahrez, who he believes were marginalized and not adequately covered by the Algerian press.
“I witnessed how the Algerian media dealt with certain events, as was the case with USM Alger and Riyad Mahrez, who were marginalized, and the solidarity of the press was absent,” stated Belmadi during the press conference.
The Algerian national team coach did not mince his words, stating, “For years, I have been saying that CAF has disdained and treated us unfairly.
Now, after what happened in the CAF competitions, everyone is saying what I’ve been saying.”
Regarding the lineup expected for the tournament, Belmadi mentioned, “During the friendlies against Togo and Burundi, we will try to involve the lineup that we will start with in the upcoming AFCON.”
He continued, “We have two preparatory matches, and for the first one, there will necessarily be some changes due to the readiness of some players returning from injury.
Burundi had a strong confrontation against Cameroon, and they were eliminated in the last match.
I am sure that the Burundi national team will make things difficult for us during the preparatory match, which is what matters most to me, and above all, is to be in the same environment that we will find in Ivory Coast.
