Roubaix: Algerian football in France under the eye of a historian at the CCMA
The academic Stanislas Frenkiel was bombarded with questions by the public, passionate about this subject.
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After more than two years of shutdown following the health crisis, the Cultural Center of the Arab World (CCMA) resumed Saturday with its traditional literary conferences. They were about thirty to come and listen to Stanislas Frenkiel, lecturer in sports history at the Faculty of Sports of Artois, to present his book Immigrant football. France/Algeria, shared historypublished by Artois Presses Université.
Despite a defeat against Cameroon which still does not pass following the last play-offs for the World Cup, the history of the Algerian football team remains a reference as proven by the book which has sold more than a thousand copies.
Beyond statistics…
This team is a reference on the one hand historical, because the craze for fennec foxes was born during the fight for independence, but also social because it allows to understand the relationship between France and Algeria. Stanislas Frenkiel has understood this well and reveals an unknown part of Algerian immigration to France beyond three generations of professional footballers. » The history of sport goes beyond simple statistics. It is a cross-cutting area that allows you to understand the political, economic and social relations “, he underlines.
Assisted by Tarik M’rabet, Stanislas Frenkiel returned to the genesis of his project: » This is a thorough revision of my doctoral thesis. Since 1932, more than 500 Algerian footballers have played in the French championship. I started with the pioneers of Algerian football before moving on to the FLN team and concluding with the triumph of the diaspora. I interviewed several glories of Algerian football: Rachid Mekhloufi, Mustapha Zitouni, and more recent players like Rabah Madjer or Djamel Belmadi “, he summarizes.
The public did not hesitate to bombard him with questions which allowed him to reveal certain anecdotes. » Zidane had come to Algeria to test with the national youth team. He had been rejected by the person in charge at the time because he was considered too frail… Next event to come at the CCMA with the big annual party which will take place on June 12 at the Salle Watremez.
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