A coach and a goalkeeper from MC El Bayadh died Wednesday evening in the team bus accident. The Algerian federation has decided to postpone all matches planned for this weekend in the country.
A bus accident killed two members of the MC El Bayadh team, which plays in Algerian Ligue 1, on the evening of Wednesday, December 20. Assistant coach Khaled Meftah (39) and goalkeeper Zakaria Bouziani (27) did not survive the accident. The circumstances of the accident have not yet been established, but images from the local press show the team bus overturned on the side of the road.
The team, which is playing its second season in the Algerian first division, was on its way to Tizi Ouzou where it was to face JS Kabylie on Friday evening in the championship. The club indicates on Facebook that the other injured people are in stable condition. The federation has decided to postpone all meetings planned for this weekend in the country.
“Following the tragic accident which mourned the club and family of MC El-Bayadh this Wednesday, December 20, 2023, and which caused two victims among the members of this club, the Algerian Football Federation has decided to suspend all football activities planned for this weekend throughout the national territory and at the level of all divisions and categories combined, until further notice”, specifies the federation in a press release. The draw for the Algerian Cup, scheduled for next Tuesday, is also postponed.
Bouziani was the team’s backup goalkeeper and played in two matches this season. El Bayadh currently occupies sixth place in the ranking, twelve points behind leader MC Alger. For their first season in Ligue 1 last year, El Bayadh finished fourth, one point from a place on the podium.
