FORMER ALGERIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION CHIEF FACES FINANCIAL MISCONDUCT CHARGES

Zetchi, who served as FAF President from 2017 to 2021, was remanded in custody in November 2024 following a preliminary investigation opened by the economic and financial crimes brigade. The Algerian prosecutor confirmed that the suspects include former presidents and secretary generals of the FAF, with the core allegations centring on contract irregularities that granted unjustified financial benefits to third parties. Zetchi is specifically accused of signing contracts that did not comply with FAF regulations, irregular management of bonuses and financial benefits for former officials, awarding foreign currency bonuses to local players outside approved frameworks, and inflating accommodation and catering expenditures related to tournament organisation.

The financial picture that investigators are working through is substantial. The FAF accumulated debts worth 48 million euros, a figure that suggests systemic overspending well beyond individual incidents of irregular contracting. The federation also came under criticism for its disorganised management of the recent U17 African football championship and the poor continental performance of the Algerian national team during the period under review. New developments emerged in early 2025, when investigators began examining Zetchi's potential involvement in the suspicious transfer of young Algerian player Mohamed Rafik Omar to Qatari club Al Shamal SC in February 2023. Investigators are probing whether individuals linked to Zetchi manipulated the transfer market for financial gain, including allegations that Omar's path to Spanish club Real Valladolid was blocked to force a more lucrative Qatar deal.

The case is entangled with broader political dynamics in Algerian sport. The arrest of Zetchi and other former FAF officials comes as current FAF President Walid Sadi has been appointed Minister of Sport, a move that some analysts read as the government's attempt to reassert direct control over a federation that had operated with considerable informal autonomy under previous leadership. Some Moroccan media initially tried to link Zetchi's arrest to his alleged failure to block a CAF membership rule change that prevented the Polisario Front from joining African football governance.

 Algerian media rejected that framing entirely, pointing instead to the substantive financial misconduct charges that long predate any CAF governance controversy.

The legal proceedings arrive at a moment when the FAF is already under external disciplinary pressure.

CAF fined the Algerian Football Federation a total of $100,000 in January 2026 for the conduct of its players, officials and supporters following the explosive AFCON 2025 quarter-final loss to Nigeria in Marrakech on January 10, in which post-match disorder saw Algerian officials and supporters confront match referees. Goalkeeper Luca Zidane received a two-match ban and defender Rafik Belghali a four-match suspension. The federation has appealed those sanctions. Together, the external sanctions and the internal corruption investigation paint a picture of an institution under simultaneous legal and governance pressure from multiple directions.