Stade Hocine Aït Ahmed – stadium description

How did the new stadium in Tizi Ouzou come about?

The construction of a new stadium for JS Kabylie was promised as early as 2000, after the team's triumph in the CAF Cup, by then Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The site for the facility was chosen in Boukhalfa, in the northwestern suburb of Tizi Ouzou. The design of the stadium was entrusted to Dune Architecture of Algiers (Omar Malki was the chief architect).

Initially, the plan was to build a stadium for 40,000 spectators, although it was eventually decided to increase the capacity to over 50,000. The facility was to receive a football-specific configuration, while a modest athletics stadium was also to be built nearby.

Prior to the construction of the new stadium, JS Kabylie played at the Stade du 1er Novembre 1954, which opened in 1978. The facility is close to the city center, has an athletics track and can accommodate about 20,000 spectators, but the stands are mostly uncovered and without seats, and the stadium is far from modern standards.

The design of the new stadium in Tizi Ouzou can be seen on a separate subpage

Who was the new stadium in Tizi Ouzou built for?

The new stadium in Tizi Ouzou was built for the city's leading football club, the JS Kabylie (JSK, “Canaris”). The team was founded in 1946 and over time has become the most successful football club in Algeria, as well as one of the most recognized in Africa. The club is identified with the entire region of Kabylia, inhabited largely by Berbers (Kabyls).

When was the new stadium in Tizi Ouzou built?

An account of the construction of the new stadium in Tizi Ouzou can be seen on a separate subpage

In 2007, the first work began to prepare the heavily hilly site for the construction of the new stadium. The construction tender was awarded in the summer of 2009, and the task fell to the consortium of Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) of Spain and ETRHB Haddad of Algeria. The contract signed at the time was worth 34 billion dinars (about €340 million).

Construction, financed by government funds, began in May 2010 and was expected to be completed after 2.5 years. However, work progressed quite slowly, and subsequent commissioning dates were postponed. In 2014, there was a change in one of the two main contractors, when Spain's FCC was replaced by Turkey's Mapa İnşaat.

In May 2019, construction was completely halted, with a stage of completion estimated at 80-85%. Work resumed in April 2022, this time entrusted to Atlas Génie SPA. On June 18, 2023, the first test match was played at the stadium, in the U-21 league competition between JS Kabylie and US Biskra (3–1).

The construction, led by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, was one of four major stadium projects carried out in Algeria during a similar period. Almost simultaneously, stadiums were also being built in Oran (Stade Miloud Hadefi) and the Algiers suburbs of Baraki (Stade Nelson Mandela) and Douera (Stade Ali la Pointe), incidentally, all of which also experienced significant delays.

When was the new stadium inaugurated in Tizi Ouzou?

The inauguration of the stadium was delayed, despite the practical completion of the work in 2023. The facility was finally opened on July 10, 2024, on the occasion of a visit by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who also inaugurated another stadium, Stade Ali La Pointe in the suburb of Douera (Algiers metropolitan area) a week earlier.

JS Kabylie played its first match at the new facility on September 27, 2024 against Olympique Akbou (2–1), as part of the 2nd round of the new league season. On November 17, the Algerian national team made its debut at the new stadium in Tizi Ouzou, defeating Liberia (5–1) in an African Cup of Nations qualifying match.

After whom was the new stadium in Tizi Ouzou named?

During the long construction process, the nascent stadium was simply referred to as the Stade de Tizi Ouzou, but before the opening, consideration began to give it a patron. Among the candidates mentioned were Lounès Matoub (musician and activist for the Berber community), Abdelkader Khalef or Mohand Cherif Hannachi (former presidents of the JS Kabylie).

In the end, the stadium was decided to be named after Hocine Aït Ahmed, who came from the Tizi Ouzou area. He was one of the leaders of the War of Independence and a symbol of the democratic opposition in Algeria.

What does the Stade Hocine Aït Ahmed look like?

The stadium has a football-specific character. The stands surround the field on all sides, have the same height around the perimeter, and have rounded corners (in two of them video screens have been placed). The capacity of the stadium is 50,766 spectators, making it one of the largest in the country.

The auditorium is divided into two tiers (between which there is also a narrow middle tier) and has been equipped with seats in yellow and green (the colors of JS Kabylie). The stands are covered by a glass roof with distinctive parabolic segments.

Near the Stade Hocine Aït Ahmed is an auxiliary stadium with a football pitch, an athletics track and a stand with seating for 6,500 spectators. There is also another training field next to it. The stadium's surroundings also include 3,800 parking spaces and a helipad.

The entire complex, which is located in Boukhalfa, in the northwestern suburb of Tizi Ouzou, covers an area of 58 hectares. The Boukhalfa train station is located near the complex and the N12 road runs close by.