Kourat el Kadem: soccer culture and fandom in postcolonial Francophone Algerian texts

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines soccer culture and fandom in North African Francophone literature, focusing on sociological studies and the ideological underpinnings that exist between soccer culture, national identity and Islamism in post-riot 1988 Algeria. In postcolonial Algeria, soccer – commonly referred to as Kourat el Kadem (ball at foot) – continues to be highly politicised, as evident in short stories by Yahia Belaskri, Anouar Benmalek, and novels by Aziz Chouaki and Rachid Boudjedra. Soccer galvanises crowds, it has a freeing, escapist, or annihilating potential, while soccer players embody a strong masculinity and positive values. Supposedly a sinful (haram) activity – according to radicalised clerical leaders – soccer is far more than a leisure activity. During Algeria’s civil war decade, soccer polarised and divided political and religious leaders, as illustrated by the assassination of Yamaha, supporter of the Belcourt team in Vincent Colonna’s novel Yamaha d’Alger (1999). While the practice of soccer is hugely popular throughout the Maghreb, this popularity is shared by Western nations, making soccer practice more problematic in a society eager to erase any remnants of colonial domination. Yet, soccer does not escape the impact of globalisation and can be associated with negative values such as money, prostitution, alcohol consumption, music, partying, and rioting.