A brewing financial crisis inside JS Kabylie is threatening the club’s crucial CAF Champions League group-stage showdown against Morocco’s AS FAR Rabat.
The Algerian side is scheduled to host their Moroccan visitors on Saturday in the third round of Group B, but growing unrest in the squad has cast doubt over the game.
JS Kabylie and AS FAR share Group B with Egyptian giants Al Ahly and Tanzania’s Young Africans in one of the tournament’s most competitive pools. Al Ahly currently lead the group with 4 points, ahead of Young Africans on goal difference, while both JS Kabylie and AS FAR sit on a single point each after two rounds.
According to Algerian newspaper “Echorouk,” JS Kabylie players have threatened to boycott the AS FAR match due to unpaid wages that have been outstanding for months. The report adds that defender Mahdi Margham has formally informed the club’s management of his desire to leave, citing five months of overdue salaries despite being under contract until summer 2027.
The situation has left German coach Josef Zinnbauer struggling to prepare his team properly for such a decisive home fixture. JS Kabylie opened their group campaign with a heavy 4-1 defeat away to Al Ahly, before drawing 0-0 at home with Young Africans in the second round, results that make the upcoming clash vital to their qualification hopes.
AS FAR’s start has been similarly complicated. The Moroccan champions lost 1-0 away to Young Africans in their first match, then earned a 1-1 draw in Rabat against Al Ahly, leaving them also under pressure to get a positive result in Algeria as off-field tensions threaten to overshadow the football on Saturday night.
