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After talking to you about one of the greatest voice of Kabilia, we continue the Algerian review with another great expression of this people: the JS Kabylie, the most titled team in the country and always an expression of the Amazight / Berber people
The most successful club in Algeria
The club was founded in 1928 under the name of RC Kabylie, thus becoming the first football association based in Tizi-Ouzou, the capital of Kabylia. This Algerian region has always been characterized by a very strong resistance to the foreign invader, precisely for fear of this, the foundation of the team was long opposed by the French government. It is only in 1946 that the club will finally see the light with its current name, however the JSK will have to wait for the years following the Revolution to obtain noteworthy results.
Starting in “68, the club saw unparalleled growth, going from the 3rd series to the victory of the first title in just 5 years, continuing the series of successes both nationally and internationally. In 1981 he managed to win his first African Champions League by beating the Congolese of AS Vita in the final and thus confirming itself as one of the most interesting realities of the entire continent. Over the years the JS Kabylie will become, by posting, the most titled team ever in Algeria, managing to win its 14th championship in 2009 and boasting 6 successes on a continental level, a result never achieved before in the country.
Amazigh pride
The club has become, over the years, a real popular representation of the Berbers and in particular of the cabili, for whom it has long become the only possible form of expression. Under the presidents Ben Bella and, above all, Houari Boumédiène, this people suffered a very strong repression, aimed at forced and imposed Arabization, never accepted by the proud Berber people. Precisely because of the censorship, cheering for the JS Kabylie became a great relief valve, whose role was facilitated by the many successes obtained. The same name of the club is sometimes read as “Je suis Kabyle”, which is why, after the final won by the team in the capital in the presence of Boumédiène, the latter decided to change her name.
The results were not exciting and, after 2 unsuccessful renaming, we returned to the definitive JS Kabylie, still proudly worn today. Over the years, the fame of the JSK has become so great as to have several songs dedicated to it by the greatest Berber singers and, in particular, Kabylian. Impossible not to mention the homages of Lounis Aït Menguellet and Lounès Matoub, two of the greatest artistic figures in the region, madly in love with this club.
Tomorrow we will continue the review dedicated to Algeria with the Tinariwen, the largest Tuareg group in history. Follow us on our facebook, YouTube and Instagram page, every like, sharing or support is welcome and helps us to dedicate ourselves more and more to our passion: telling the Middle East. Read the article also on Soccer Illustrated
