ES Sétif (Algeria)

Entente Sportive de Sétif are based in the North East Algerian city of Sétif. One of the coldest areas in the country, it sits among mountains at over 1000 metres above sea level.They are one of the most successful clubs in Algerian Football league history.

The club was formed in 1958 by Ali Benaouda and Ali Layass, although they were briefly known as both Entente Pétroliers de Sétifienne and Entente Plastique de Sétifienne in the seventies and eighties, before changing back to their more historic name in the 1990s. 

They've won the national title four times - the most recent being in 2009, and the Algerian Cup on seven occasions. They have also won the African Cup of Champions, the Arab Champions League, the North African Cup of Champions, and are the only Algerian club to have ever won the Afro-Asian Club Championship. They made history with their Cup of Champions win as they were the only non-top flight club ever to lift the trophy.

Originally playing in green and white, they switched to the famous black and white stripes in memorial of the Sétif Massacre on May 8th 1945 - one day after VE Day. After initial rioting killed 103 French settlers, French reprisals saw the estimated deaths of anything up to 45000 Algerian - an event that the French government has only recently apologised for.

The club go by the rather regal nickname of The Black Eagles, and play at the 30,000 capacity Stade 8 Mai 1945 - once again commemorating the sad events of the uprising.



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