The Algerian football community is grappling with grief and shock after a fatal accident involving the MC El Bayadh team’s bus on Wednesday evening. The devastating incident claimed the lives of two individuals: 39-year-old assistant coach Khaled Meftah and 27-year-old goalkeeper Zakaria Bouziani.
While the precise details of the accident remain unclear, distressing images circulating in the local press depict the team’s bus overturned on the side of the road.
The MC El Bayadh team was en route to Tizi Ouzou for a scheduled match against JS Kabylie on Friday evening—a match that will now forever remain unplayed.
In response to this tragic loss, the Algerian Football Federation has made the poignant decision to suspend all football activities slated for the weekend across the nation, affecting every division and category.
This suspension will endure until further notice, serving as a collective expression of mourning and solidarity extended to the victims, their grieving families, and the MC El Bayadh community.
The football club, which had achieved a commendable fourth-place finish in its inaugural season in Ligue 1 the previous year, is now engulfed in mourning.
The loss of Assistant Coach Khaled Meftah and Goalkeeper Zakaria Bouziani has sent shockwaves through the Algerian football fraternity, prompting a pause in the sporting calendar as a mark of respect for those who tragically lost their lives.
This heartbreaking incident underscores the vulnerability that often accompanies the rigors of athletic travel, reminding us all of the fragility of life.
As the Algerian football community unites in sorrow, the suspension of scheduled matches serves as a poignant acknowledgment of the profound impact of this tragedy on the nation’s sporting landscape.
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗲́𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀
La famille de la JSK est profondément choquée et attristée par la terrible nouvelle de l’accident de circulation dont a été victime l’équipe du MC El Bayedh pendant son déplacement vers Tizi-Ouzou, enregistrant des cas de décès.
Le Président du… pic.twitter.com/naU0MJ2kq1
— JS Kabylie (@jsk_tweet) December 20, 2023
