CR Belouizdad

CR Belouizdad
Full nameChabab Riadhi Belouizdad
Nickname(s)The Chababists, The Reds, The Belouizdadis, The Belcourtois
Founded15 July 1962; 62 years ago (1962-07-15) (as Chabab Riadhi de Belcourt)
Ground20 August 1955 Stadium
Capacity15,000
OwnerMADAR Holding
PresidentMehdi Rabehi[1]
Head CoachCorentin Martins[2]
LeagueLigue 1
2023–24Ligue 1, 2nd of 16
Websitehttps://crb.dz/
Current season

Chabab Riadhi Belouizdad (Arabic: الشباب الرياضي لبلوزداد); known as CR Belouizdad or simply CRB for short, is an Algerian association football club based in Algiers, Algeria, that plays in the Ligue Professionnelle 1, the top flight of Algerian football. The club has competed in the top division for a record 55 seasons (playing just one season in the second tier in 1988–1989).

CRB was founded on 15 July 1962,[3][4] ten days after the independence of Algeria, as Chabab Riadhi de Belcourt,[5] by the merger of two clubs from the same district, the Widad Riadhi de Belcourt and the Club Athéltique de Belcourt,[6][7] and has played at its current home ground, 20 August 1955 Stadium, ever since.

CRB has traditionally worn a white home kit with the red trademark "V" on the front since its inception.

The club has produced several notable players and established itself as a major force in both Algerian and Maghrebin football during the 1960s and 1970s, winning 10 major trophies in 8 seasons. CRB is one of the most successful clubs in Algeria (and has the most trophies in the capital city), having won the domestic league title ten times, the Algerian Cup a record 9 times, one Algerian League Cup, two Algerian Super Cups and the Maghreb Champions Cup a record three times but has no African title.

In 2010, CRB obtained professional status following a reform of the league to professionalize the Algerian football.[8] They won their first title of champion of Algeria at the end of the 1964–1965 season, three years after their creation.

Madar Holding Group is, since 15 October 2018, the majority shareholder of the share capital of the sports company by shares CRB "Athletic", after acquiring 67% of the 75% of the shares held by the amateur sports Club (CSA), chaired by Karim Chettouf.[9][10] The board of directors is, since 22 September 2021, chaired by Mohamed Belhadj, replacing Mohamed Abrouk (who held this post after Charaf-Eddine Amara was elected President of the Algerian Football Federation on 16 April 2021), and will have a purely administrative mission, since it was agreed that everything related to the sport component will be managed by the new director general, Hocine Yahi, who agreed to hold this position on 30 March 2021, replacing Toufik Korichi. The first team is managed by Marcos Paquetá since 23 September 2021, replacing Zoran Manojlović.

The club is still and has long been one of the most popular football teams in Algeria, and has local rivalries with neighbors MC Algiers,[11][12][13] NA Hussein Dey[14][15][16] and USM Algiers.[17][18][19]

  1. ^ "CR Belouizdad : Mehdi Rabehi nouveau président". 6 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Ligue 1: le CR Belouizdad officialise le retour de Paqueta". lescore.dz. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  3. ^ B., Saïd. "Reporters – Le CR Belouizdad fête ses 55 ans : Un anniversaire et un trophée en guise de bougie". reporters.dz (in French). Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  4. ^ Kreo. "Ligue 1 & 2 : A l'occasion du 52e anniversaire du CRB : Belouizdad a vécu une grande soirée samedi". lebuteur.com (in French). Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  5. ^ Rafik (15 July 2018). "CRB : Messaoud Merad déclare la guerre à Bouhafs". competition.dz (in French). Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Adversaire des Créateurs, ce CR Belouizdad est loin d'être une montagne insurmontable". Footmali (in French). 9 February 2018. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  7. ^ "CR Belouizdad".
  8. ^ Racelma, Kaci. "Algérie : la professionnalisation du football à l'ordre du jour – Afrik-foot.com : l'actualité du football africain". afrik-foot.com. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  9. ^ "CRB : Madar Holding prend les rênes du Chabab". elmoudjahid.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Ligue 1 : l'ex-SNTA, nouvel actionnaire majoritaire du CRB – TSA". TSA (in French). 31 October 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  11. ^ "MCA-CRB demain à 18h : Un 79e derby sans saveur !". Djazairess. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  12. ^ Kreo. "Coupe d'Algérie : Un explosif derby MCA-CRB au menu". lebuteur.com (in French). Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  13. ^ "L'Expression – Le Quotidien – Un derby sous haute tension". lexpressiondz.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  14. ^ Rédaction (28 January 2016). "CRB-NAHD, le derby des frères jumeaux". competition.dz (in French). Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Le Derby NAHD-CRB finalement programmé au 5 juillet" (in French). 10 May 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ "CRB 3 - NAHD 2 : La victoire et le maintien : un derby parfait pour le Chabab - Algérie360.com" (in French). 14 May 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  17. ^ "L'Expression – Le Quotidien – CRB-USMA capte les regards". lexpressiondz.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  18. ^ "CRB-USMA: Chaud derby au 20-Août – Le Temps d'Algérie". letemps-dz.com (in French). Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  19. ^ "USMA – CRB : derby à guichets fermés !". elmoudjahid.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.