Algeria

Algeria (Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazā’ir) is a country of approximately 35,000,000 people in northwestern Africa. Its capital and largest city is Algiers. Algeria is one of the country making up the Maghreb. About 80% of the whole Algerian territory is located into the Sahara desert.

History of hockey in Algeria
Ice hockey in Algeria proper is almost inexistant. However, many Algerians of the Algerian diaspora worldwide have picked up the sport, especially in countries such as France or Canada. In 2006, the Algerian Ice and Inline Hockey Association was formed, along with the Algerian National Team. The Federation applied for IIHF membership, which has yet to be granted; however, the national team has been active and involved in several tournaments and friendly matches.

Algeria's first game was played at the 2008 Arab Cup of Ice Hockey against the Kuwaiti National Team on June 16 2008. The result was an 8-2 loss, but the ice was nevertheless broken for Algerian hockey. The team went on to lose all of its five games of the tournament and finished in the fourth and last place of the standings; on the bright side however, forward Harond Litim, a French player of Algerian ancestry, was named tournament MVP.

Of all the players with Algerian ancestry, Josef Boumedienne is perhaps the best-known and has the highest profile, having played 47 games in the National Hockey League for the New Jersey Devils, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals.

Organisation
There are no ice hockey leagues in Algeria. There only exists the national team and the ice hockey federation; the national team is made up of players of the Algerian diaspora. There is an ice rink in Tizi Ouzo.

As of 2020 the is one club in the country HC Alger Corsaires.

Notable Algerian players

 * 🇸🇪🇫🇮 Josef Boumedienne (former NHLer)
 * 🇫🇷 Harond Litim (all-time Algerian National Team top scorer)

National Team
Algeria men's national ice hockey team