FLN, A Sacrifice for History (2016)
In 1958, in the midst of the Algerian War and two months before the World Cup, the French Football Federation (FFF) discovered on April 15th that nine of its players of Algerian origin had secretly left France to join the headquarters of the National Liberation Front (FLN) in Tunis, where the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA) was based. They chose to leave everything behind—careers, fame, money—to support the FLN cause: the independence of the Algerian people. Their daring escape was worthy of a thriller and made headlines across the international press. For four years, the FLN team toured the world and became the standard-bearer for a people. FIFA refused to recognize the team and threatened federations that played against it with sanctions. Nevertheless, the team made a lasting impression with 57 wins, 14 draws, and 12 losses in 83 matches. Ferhat Abbas, president of the GPRA, told them, "You have gained ten years for the cause of independent Algeria."
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Rachid Mekhloufi as Self |
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Mustapha Zitouni as Self (archive footage) |
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Abdelaziz Ben Tifour as Self (archive footage) |
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Kaddour Bekhloufi as Self (archive footage) |
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Abderrahmane Boubekeur as Self (archive footage) |
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Abdelhamid Kermali as Self (archive footage) |
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Amar Rouaï as Self (archive footage) |
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Abdelhamid Bouchouk as Self (archive footage) |
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Saïd Brahimi as Self (archive footage) |
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Mohamed Boumezrag as Self (archive footage) |
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Redha as Self |
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Karim Rouaï as Self |
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Malik Zitouni as Self |
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Just Fontaine as Self |
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Michel Naït-Challal as Self |
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Kader Abderrahim as Self |
