Algerian football players deal with intense heat as season ends

Algerian football teams and their fans have been complaining about the extension of the season which saw the final games played in intense heat.

MC Oran’s last match of the domestic league against USM Alger on Friday 20 June kicked off at 18h00 local time, with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius.

MCO assistant coach, Abdellatif Bouazza, said it was very hard playing in June when temperatures are very high.

"We lived through that in some matches, a great difficulty even before kick-off, in the warm-ups, the players suffering from a lot of things like fatigue, dehydration, and sweating too much,” he said.

Bouazza added that the FIFA Club World Cup is also taking place in high temperatures and that “the fatigue becomes evident in the players, and even the staff".

Despite the heat, MC Oran’s match ended with a 4-0 victory over USM Alger.

But it’s not only the players that are suffering. Fans have also complained about the intense summer heat, which has resulted in fewer people attending matches and some expressing their concern.

"Because of our love for MCO we must get into the stadium despite the extreme heat, but at 6pm that is too much,” said fan Razkallah.

“You cannot play at 6pm, it is better at 7 or 8pm. The last match was at 5 in the afternoon.  This at 6 felt the same, we hope the message will be received," he said.

In separate news, three people died and dozens were injured in Algiers on Sunday when a stadium security barrier collapsed amid celebrations after MC Alger retained its league title.

As a result of the tragedy, the National Football League decided to cancel the official trophy presentation ceremony.