Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (in Kabyle: Ilemẓiyen inaddalen n leqbayel, in Tamazight: ⵉⵍⵎⵣⵢⵏ ⵉⵏⴰⴷⴰⵍⵏ ⵏ ⵍⵇⵠⴰⵢⵍ), known as JS Kabylie or JSK, is an Algerian professional football club based in Tizi Ouzou, Kabylia. The club is named after the cultural, natural and historical region that is home to the Kabyle Berber people speaking Kabyle (the letters ⵊ ⵙ ⴽ on the badge are Tifinagh letters for JSK). The club was founded in 1946 and its colours are yellow and green. Their home stadium, 1 November 1954 Stadium, has a capacity of 25,000 spectators. The club is currently playing in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1.
JS Kabylie is the most successful Algerian club at the national level having won the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 title 14 times (record in Algeria), the Algerian Cup five times, the Algerian League Cup once and the Algerian Super Cup once. It is the only Algerian club that has never been relegated to the second division with 55 seasons in the row at the high level since the 1969–1970 season. He is elected as the best Algerian club of the 20th century.
JS Kabylie is also the most successful Algerian club at the African level having won a number of African titles, including the most prestigious African competition CAF Champions League twice in 1981 and 1990, the African Cup Winners' Cup once in 1995, the CAF Cup three times in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and the first ever African Super Cup once in 1982 during the Tournament of Fraternity.
JS Kabylie has a total of 28 official trophies (record in Algeria).
On the African level, JS Kabylie is the most successful Algerian club, but also the one which has played the most African competitions matches and the only club of three in Africa to have won the three different African competitions before 2005 (CAF Champions League, African Cup Winners' Cup and CAF Cup). It is also the only club of two in Africa to win an African competition three times in a row which is a record. According to CAF, this performance ranks the club among the ten best African clubs of the 20th century (9th place) and the IFFHS considers JS Kabylie to be one of the best African clubs of the previous century, occupying the 7th place in its ranking all eras combined. In Africa, JS Kabylie is the 6th most successful club.
History
1929–1946: The beginnings of the club
In the 1920s, young Kabyles who played football in the streets of the city of Tizi-Ouzou organized a mini inter-district championship under the leadership of Ahmed Astouati. Each district of the upper town (the indigenous town, taddart or tribe) had its team; participated in this tournament, young people from the districts of Aïn Hallouf, Tazegourt, Ihammoutène, Zellal and Tabnahlit. It is from these neighborhoods that a group of young people will emerge who aspired to the creation of a football club different from the Olympique de Tizi-Ouzou, a club created by the Europeans of Algeria. These young people formed a neighborhood selection made up of brothers Mesbahi Saïd and Ramdane, brothers Sebti Samir and Sofiane and brothers Rafaï Mohamed and Hocine, Harchaoui Omar, Zemirli Saïd, Souibes Rabah, Loukab Mohamed, Mekacher Amar, Boussad Ouamar, Mammar Mohamed, cousins Hammoutène Abderezak and Mohamed, Belhadj Khelifa, Chabaraka Ahmed, Assas Hocine, grouped around their dean Chikhaoui Mohamed Seghir then aged twenty, to create a sports society in order to participate in an official championship.
The Rapid Club of Tizi-Ouzou (1929–1932)
From the beginning of the year 1929 and after many difficulties, the young Kabyles who had come together to form a sports association, managed to finalize and file their status. The sports company called Rapid Club de Tizi-Ouzou was born, the name of the association was borrowed from the Austrian club Rapid Vienne, as well as its colors: green and white. The declaration of the association also appears in the JORF. For the costs of commitments to the championship of the season 1929–1930 and the purchase of equipment, each member brought back his own equipment (shoes, stockings, shorts). As for the jerseys and the expenses, they were the object of a quest from their parents, allies and friends and from certain notables of the village. The football was bought and graciously donated by Chikhaoui Mohamed Seghir, team captain.