Olympique Akbou (Kabyle: Ulembi Aqbu; Tamazight: âµÂâµÂâ´°âµÂâµÂâµÂâ´½ â´°âµÂâµ âµ ;), known as O Akbou or OA for short, is an Algerian professional football club located in Akbou, Béjaïa Province, Kabylia. The club was founded in 1936 and its colours are blue and white. The club currently plays in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1.
In summer 2018, a year after being relegated to the Division d'Honneur of Béjaïa (then 7th tier), Olympique Akbou was acquired by local businessman Karim Takka. The club immediately gained promotion to the Régional II the following season. Following 2 successive promotions (the 2020âÂÂ21 having not been held due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the club found itself in the 3rd tier (the removal of the professional Ligue 2 meant all below tiers would gain one step).
The 2022âÂÂ23 season saw the club achieve historic success. Bolstered by the arrivals of Mourad Karouf in November 2022 at the helm and Zidane Mebarakou during the winter transfer window at the back, the club achieved a run to the 2022âÂÂ23 Algerian Cup quarter-finals. On 5 May 2023, Olympique Akbou were promoted to the Algerian Ligue 2 for the first time in their history. It was their 4th consecutive promotion.
The 2023âÂÂ24 season began with an away loss at CA Batna. Nevertheless, the club bounced back and went on a 23-game unbeaten run in the league, which started on 7 October with a 5âÂÂ0 home win against USM Annaba and ended on 7 May with a 1âÂÂ0 away loss at AS Aïn M'lila. On 11 May 2024, Olympique Akbou were promoted to the Ligue 1 for the first time in their history after beating NRB Teleghma. It was their 5th consecutive promotion, and thus becoming one of the very few clubs around the world to have done so.
Olympique Akbou typically play at 1 November Guendouza Stadium in Akbou.
However, the past years, they also played their home games in neighboring cities, such as Sidi Aïch and .
Olympique Akbou also hosted games in the Maghrebi Unity Stadium of Béjaïa.
The Martyrs Stadium, Akbou's municipal stadium, will host the team's games in the future, after the completion of renovation works.
The Algerian teams are limited to four foreign players. The squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player.
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