The FLN Football Team and the Algerian War of Independence

In April 1958, a group of talented Algerian soccer players who played in France, including Rachid Mehkloufi, Mustapha Zitouni, and Abdelaziz Ben Tifour, shocked the world by defecting from France overnight and flying to Tunis. There, they created the FLN Football Team. Algeria, France’s most prized colony, was under French dominion for more than 120 years before a group of Algerian militants known as the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) began an armed struggle against their colonizers in late 1954. Brutal violence defined the first years of the Algerian War of Independence, with decisive battles being fought both in the countryside and Algeria’s largest cities, including the infamous Battle of Algiers (1956-1957). The FLN Football Team toured East Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East to raise awareness of the Algerian cause to adoring, soccer-crazy audiences. The team met with political leaders such as the Iraqi Prime Minister, Abdul Karim Qassim, and Vietnam’s president and legendary revolutionary leader, Ho Chi Minh, while also playing in front of thousands of fans across the world. Ultimately, the FLN Football Team helped Algeria achieve its independence in 1962.