FLN, A Sacrifice for History Backdrop Blur
FLN, A Sacrifice for History Poster
10.0 0h 28m

FLN, A Sacrifice for History

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."

Top Cast

  • Mohamed Boumezrag

    Mohamed Boumezrag

    Self (archive footage)

  • Mokhtar Arribi

    Mokhtar Arribi

    Self (archive footage)

  • Mohamed Allam

    Mohamed Allam

    Self (archive footage)

  • Rachid Mekhloufi

    Rachid Mekhloufi

    Self

  • Mustapha Zitouni

    Mustapha Zitouni

    Self (archive footage)

  • Abdelaziz Ben Tifour

    Abdelaziz Ben Tifour

    Self (archive footage)

  • Kaddour Bekhloufi

    Kaddour Bekhloufi

    Self (archive footage)

  • Abderrahmane Boubekeur

    Abderrahmane Boubekeur

    Self (archive footage)

  • Abdelhamid Kermali

    Abdelhamid Kermali

    Self (archive footage)

Overview

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."

Rating

10.0 / 10
1 Reviews
0 Popular

Recommendations

Night Will Fall

When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".

Night Will Fall

7.6 2014