Algerian Radio
The Technical Directorate of the Algerian Athletics Federation (FAA) announced on Monday that the national Under-20 (boys) Cross Country team "will bolster the squad of Algerian representatives at the Arab Championships, scheduled for January 24 in the city of Nineveh, Iraq."
This reinforcement brings the total number of Algerian representatives in this competition to twenty-four; initially, the roster consisted of only eighteen athletes.
The matter was discussed on January 6 between FAA President Farid Boukaïs and members of the Technical Directorate, immediately following the confirmation that the U20 national team (boys) would not participate in the 2026 World Cross Country Championships, held on Saturday, January 10, in Tallahassee, United States.
Six athletes were supposed to take part in that venture: Kaddour Naïli, Mohamed Amine Sokou, Zakaria Touahria, Amir Mouad Baroud, Abdel-Mouez Belhaddad, and Ahmed Abdenacer Messabis, under the supervision of coach Naïli Ahmed.
However, following the confirmation of their non-participation in the Tallahassee World Championships, the Technical Directorate and the FAA considered entering them in the Arab Championships in Nineveh, a decision that was confirmed this Monday.
The other Algerian representatives in this competition are: Yasser Amraoui, Zakaria Bouguetaya, Abdelmoumène Boutebia, Abdeldjalil Dellaoui, Abdallah Houssem Khabez, and Abdelmoumène Zakaria Zina-Raggoua in the U18 (Boys) category, as well as Hadjer Bouaïssi, Rinès Hadj-Chérif, Ritedj Hammam, Hadil Kamiri, Randa Mouici, and Hadil Samaï in the U18 (Girls) category.
In the U20 category, in addition to the six aforementioned boys, the FAA Technical Directorate has selected Karima Achiche, Hassna Benouadah, Zineb Ben Djoudja, Ayet El Houda Benslimani, Fatma Dahmani, and Soundous Berkahom for the girls' team.
Six races (three for men and three for women) are on the program for these Arab Cross Country Championships. Seniors over 20 (men and women) will compete over an identical distance of 10 km, while the Under-20s (boys) will compete over 8 km, whereas girls of the same age category will run six.
The same applies to the Under-17s, where boys will be required to cover 6 km, while girls of the same age group will run only four. According to the organizers, 14 countries have confirmed their participation in this 28th edition of the Arab Cross Country Championships: Algeria, Iraq (Host Country), Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sultanate of Oman, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon. The competition was initially scheduled for January 20 before being postponed by four days for organizational reasons.
