A bus accident in the late hours of Wednesday killed two members of Algerian Ligue 1 team Mouloudia El Bayadh, leading the national football association to postpone all games scheduled for this week across all categories.
The accident killed El Bayadh goalie Zakaria Bouziani, 27, and assistant coach Khalid Muftah, according to Algeria’s national news agency.
Bouziani, a stand-in goalie, appeared in two league games this season.
According to local media, the team’s bus overturned near the town of Sougueur in northwestern Algeria while on its route to Tizi Ouzou to face JSK Kabylie in a league game on Friday. According to the club’s Facebook page, additional injured members are in stable condition.
“In the wake of the painful tragedy that befell Algerian football, the Algerian Football Federation decided to suspend all football activities scheduled for the end of this week across the entire country,” the federation said in a statement.
“The Federation also decided to postpone the draw ceremony for the 32nd and 16th rounds of the Algerian Cup to a later date.”
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune stated in a statement that he received the news of the tragedy with “great pain and sorrow,” offering his condolences to the families of the victims of the accident.
El Bayadh sits sixth in the Algerian league table with 15 points from 10 games, 12 adrift of runaway leader MC Alger.
