Hocine Aït Ahmed Stadium: The 50,766-seat home of JS Kabylie

Hocine Aït Ahmed Stadium is a football stadium located in Boukhalfa, Tizi Ouzou, in the Kabylia region of Algeria. Owned by the Algerian Ministry of Sport, it holds 50,766 seats, making it the third-largest stadium in the country. The stadium was designed by Atlas Genie Civil Spa, a subsidiary of the United States-based construction company Atlas Group. Construction began on May 15, 2010, and the project was completed in 2023 after 13 years of work. It replaced the 1 November 1954 Stadium and has served as the home ground for JS Kabylie since 2024.

The project was initiated after the club won its third consecutive CAF Cup in 2002, when Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika pledged a new stadium to match the club's sporting ambitions. The construction faced several delays and stoppages, reaching an estimated completion rate of 85% by May 2019. In May 2020, the site was entrusted to the public company Cosider to complete the remaining work. After further administrative procedures and the involvement of a Turkish company for reinforcements, the stadium was finally inaugurated on July 10, 2024, in the presence of president Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

The stadium is named after Hocine Aït Ahmed, a legendary leader of the FLN during the independence war. While other names like Abdelkader Khalef and Mohand Chérif Hannachi were discussed by the local population due to their legacy with the club, the name of the independence war leader was ultimately chosen. The stadium hosted its first test match on June 18, 2023, and its first official match on September 27, 2024, in a Kabyle derby against Olympique Akbou.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons