2023–24 ES Sétif season explained

Club:	ES Sétif
Season:	2023–24
Owner:	Sonelgaz (from 27 July 2023)^[1]
Manager:	Abdelkader Amrani (from 6 August 2023)^[2] (until 12 September 2023)^[3] Franck Dumas (from 13 September 2023)^[4] (until 9 February 2024)^[5] Ammar Souayah (from 10 February 2024)^[6]
Mgrtitle:	Head coach
Chairman:	Abdelhakim Serrar (until 27 July 2023) Abdelhamid Rais (from 6 August 2023)^[7]
Chrtitle:	President
Stadium:	8 May 1945 Stadium
League:	Ligue 1
League Result:	5th
Cup1:	Algerian Cup
Cup1 Result:	Round of 32
League Topscorer:	Aymen Lahmeri (9 goals)
Season Topscorer:	Aymen Lahmeri (9 goals)
Prevseason:	2022–23
Nextseason:	2024–25
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The 2023–24 season, is ES Sétif's 54th season and the club's 22nd consecutive season in the top flight of Algerian football. In addition to the domestic league, ES Sétif are participating in the Algerian Cup.

Review

On July 20, 2023, The members of the board of directors of the ESS Black Eagles company published a press release to announce that the contracts signed recently by Abdelhakim Serrar were cancelled. The reason is that all the members of the council recently submitted their collective resignation as part of the takeover of the club by the public company Sonelgaz, the signatures of Kheireddine Madoui in particular as well as the other contracts in negotiation are declared null and void.^[8] Sonelgaz made a point of providing some clarifications concerning the operation to buy back the capital of SSPA/ES Sétif in a recent press release. Sonelgaz will announce the acquisition once the paperwork is signed. A roadmap will also be communicated to the public. The latter will answer questions from supporters about the future of the club.^{[9] [10]}

On July 27, ESS Black Eagles held an extraordinary general meeting to ratify the resignation of the Board of Directors, during which Serrar submitted his resignation, so that all the club's shares became the property of Sonelgaz. On August 6, 2023, ES Setif contracted Abdelkader Amrani as a new coach. In addition, several former ESS players have been appointed to several positions. Malik Zorgane will supervise the opposing teams while Mourad Delhoum will be responsible for prospecting young players. Isaad Bourahli has been appointed deputy technical director, while Derradji Bendjaballah has been appointed to the club's board of directors. On August 20, The new owner of ES Sétif organized a grand ceremony to present the players for the 2023–24 season. This ceremony organized at the Ecole supérieure d'Hôtellerie et Restauration of Aïn Benian, in the presence of the CEO of Sonelgaz. Among the 15 players recruited during this off-season, ES Sétif got their hands on two Malian players defender Moriba Diarra and striker Souleymane Coulibaly.^[11]

ES Sétif continue its summer preparation at the International Sports Complex Ain Drahem in Tunisia. This second internship began on August 22 and end on September 6.^[12] Three days before the first match in Ligue 1 ESS Black Eagles announced the termination of the contract binding it to Amrani and all of its technical staff, disagreement over some points of internal regulations is the reason behind this departure. On September 13, ES Setif signed Franck Dumas as their new coach, with Slimane Raho as his assistant. The chief executive officer (CEO) of Sonelgaz held a working meeting on December 7, 2023, which brought together the technical and administrative teams of ES Sétif. During this meeting it was a question of listening to the concerns of the administrative and technical staff. The CEO of Sonelgaz announced the start of work on the club's sports facilities, including the construction of a training center and the renovation of the Grand Hôtel de France from January.^[13]

On May 5, the owner of ES Sétif, Sonelgaz is preparing for next season by appointing Abdelkrim Bira as general manager. Bira will be in charge of the sporting aspect by preparing the summer transfer window but he will also be the club's spokesperson. After a transitional season which saw Sonelgaz erase the club's debts to the tune of 37 billion centimes or almost 2 million euros.^[14]

Squad list

Players and squad numbers last updated on 5 February 2024.^{[15] [16]}
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Nat.	Position	Name	Date of Birth (Age)	Signed from
Goalkeepers
1		GK	Mohamed Lotfi Anis Osmani	September 15, 2023	Unattached
23		GK	Imad Benchlef	September 15, 2023	USM Alger
25		GK	Zakaria Saidi	September 15, 2023	JS Saoura
Defenders
2		CB	Drice Chaabi	September 15, 2023	Francs Borains
3		LB	Abdelmoumen Chikhi	September 15, 2023	CR Belouizdad
4		CB	Ahmed Guettaf	September 15, 2023	AS Saint-Priest
5		RB	Mohamed Khoutir Ziti	September 15, 2023	Nasr Benghazi
12		CB	Tarek Aggoun	September 15, 2023	Al-Sahel SC
13		CB	Yacine Zeghad	September 15, 2023	NC Magra
16		CB	Moriba Diarra	September 15, 2023	Stade Malien
22		LB	Belkacem Brahimi	September 15, 2023	MC Alger
65		RB	Imad Reguieg	September 15, 2023	MC Oran
Midfielders
6		MF	Amir Yahia	September 15, 2023	US Souf
7		MF	Salah Bouchama	September 15, 2023	Youth system
10		MF	Abdou Salam Jiddou	September 15, 2023	Unattached
15		MF	Sami Guediri	September 15, 2023	Unattached
18		MF	Taher Benkhelifa	September 15, 2023	USM Alger
21		MF	Zineddine Benboulaid	January 1, 2023	RC Arbaâ
24		MF	Amir Nouri	September 15, 2023	Stade Briochin
Forwards
9		FW	Saïd Bouchoucha	September 15, 2023	JSM Tiaret
11		FW	Ramdane Hitala	January 5, 2024	MC El Bayadh
14		FW	Abdesslem Bouchouareb	January 5, 2024	USM Alger
17		FW	Abdelmalek Oukil	September 15, 2023	MC Alger
20		FW	Aimen Lahmeri	September 15, 2023	JS Saoura
26		FW	Abdelaziz Moulay	January 5, 2024	ASO Chlef
27		FW	Walid Zamoum	September 15, 2023	JSM Béjaïa

Transfers

In

Summer

Date		Player	Moving from	Fee	Source
10 August 2023	FW	Abdelmalek Oukil		Loan	^[17] ^[18]
14 August 2023	MF	Belaid Hamidi		Loan	^[19]
15 August 2023	DF	Moriba Diarra		Free transfer	^[20]
16 August 2023	DF	Zakaria Zaitri		Free transfer	^[21]
17 August 2023	FW			Free transfer	^[22]
17 August 2023	DF	Imad Reguig		Free transfer	^[23]
17 August 2023	GK	Zakaria Saidi		Free transfer	^[24]
17 August 2023	DF	Abdelmoumen Chikhi		Free transfer
17 August 2023	MF	Islam Bouloudène		Free transfer
17 August 2023	MF	Zineddine Benboulaid		Free transfer
17 August 2023	MF	Saïd Bouchoucha		Free transfer
17 August 2023	GK			Free transfer	^[25]
17 August 2023	FW	Aymen Lahmeri		Loan	^[26]
17 August 2023	DF	Yacine Zeghad		Free transfer
17 August 2023	MF	Amir Yahia		Free transfer

Winter

Date		Player	Moving from	Fee	Source
4 February 2024	DF	Ahmed Guettaf		Free transfer	^[27] ^[28]
4 February 2024	FW	Ramdane Hitala		Free transfer
4 February 2024	MF			Free transfer
4 February 2024	FW			Free transfer
4 February 2024	FW	Abdelaziz Moulay		Undisclosed

Out

Summer

Date		Player	Moving to	Fee	Source
16 July 2023	FW	Zerroug Boucif		Loan return
4 August 2023	FW	Ghiles Guenaoui		Free transfer	^[29]
5 August 2023	FW	Youcef Fellahi		Free transfer	^[30]
19 August 2023	DF	Hamza Salem		Free transfer	^[31]
22 August 2023	FW	Enow Nkembe		Free transfer	^[32] ^[33]
25 August 2023	MF	Youcef Dali		Free transfer (Released)
25 August 2023	DF	Tarek Belouchat		Free transfer (Released)
25 August 2023	FW	Mohamed Aimen Akziz		Free transfer (Released)
27 August 2023	DF	Kheireddine Benamrane		Free transfer (Released)	^[34]
27 August 2023	MF	Houssem Ouassni		Free transfer (Released)
27 August 2023	MF	Bassem Chaouti		Free transfer (Released)
27 August 2023	MF	Youcef Serraoui		Free transfer (Released)
27 August 2023	DF	Islem Chebbour		Free transfer (Released)	^[35]

Winter

Date		Player	Moving to	Fee	Source
9 January 2024	DF	Zakaria Zaitri		Free transfer (Released)	^[36]
9 January 2024	MF			Free transfer (Released)
9 January 2024	FW	Abdelhak Askar		Free transfer (Released)
19 February 2024	FW			Free transfer (Released)	^[37]

Competitions

Overview

Competition	Record								Started round	Final position / round	First match	Last match
Ligue 1		5th	15 September 2023	14 June 2024
Algerian Cup			2 February 2024	9 March 2024
Total Ligue 1 See main article: 2023–24 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1. Matches The league fixtures were announced on 24 August 2023.^[38] All times are local, WAT (UTC+1). Algerian Cup See main article: 2023–24 Algerian Cup. Squad information Playing statistics No. Player Ligue 1 Algerian Cup Total Goalkeepers 1 GK Mohamed Lotfi Anis Osmani 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 23 GK Imad Benchlef 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 25 GK Zakaria Saidi 25 24 0 2 2 0 27 26 0 50 GK Ala Eddine Bouaoune 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Defenders 2 DF Drice Chaabi 19 17 0 1 1 0 20 18 0 3 DF Abdelmoumen Chikhi 19 17 1 2 2 0 21 19 1 4 DF Ahmed Guettaf 12 10 1 2 2 0 14 12 1 5 DF Mohamed Khoutir Ziti 8 6 0 1 0 0 9 6 0 12 DF Tarek Aggoun 27 24 3 1 1 0 28 25 3 13 DF Yacine Zeghad 8 7 2 1 1 0 9 8 2 16 DF Moriba Diarra 13 10 0 0 0 0 13 10 0 22 DF Belkacem Brahimi 8 5 0 0 0 0 8 5 0 65 DF Imad Reguieg 15 13 0 1 1 0 16 14 0 68 DF Rachid Boumessous 10 5 0 0 0 0 10 5 0 71 DF Abderrazak Mohra 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 Midfielders 6 MF Amir Yahia 6 4 0 0 0 0 6 4 0 7 MF Salah Bouchama 26 20 1 2 2 0 28 22 1 10 MF Abdou Salam Jiddou 25 20 1 2 1 0 27 21 1 15 MF Sami Guediri 8 3 0 0 0 0 8 3 0 18 MF Taher Benkhelifa 11 10 1 1 1 0 12 11 1 21 MF Zineddine Benboulaid 5 1 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 24 MF Amir Nouri 25 21 1 2 2 0 27 23 1 32 MF Bassem Mechaar 9 5 0 1 1 0 10 6 0 Forwards 9 FW Saïd Bouchoucha 17 12 2 1 1 2 18 13 4 11 FW Ramdane Hitala 4 2 0 1 0 0 5 2 0 14 FW Abdesslem Bouchouareb 6 3 0 0 0 0 6 3 0 17 FW Abdelmalek Oukil 22 14 3 2 2 1 24 16 4 20 FW Aimen Lahmeri 28 28 9 2 2 0 30 30 6 26 FW Abdelaziz Moulay 13 9 3 1 0 0 14 9 3 27 FW Walid Zamoum 26 16 4 1 0 0 27 16 4 35 FW Abdelmouine Ferdjioui 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 61 FW Mohamed Messaoud Salem 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 88 FW Youcef Aouissi 7 0 1 0 0 0 7 0 1 90 FW Rafik Douib 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 Players transferred out during the season 18 DF Zakaria Zaitri 4 4 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 14 MF Nassim Yattou 6 5 0 0 0 0 6 5 0 11 FW Abdelhak Askar 5 4 1 0 0 0 5 4 1 19 FW Souleymane Coulibaly 12 5 3 0 0 0 12 5 3 Total 30 37 2 3 32 40 Goalscorers Includes all competitive matches. width=10 No. width=10 Nat. width=140 Player width=10 Pos. width=40 width=40 width=10 TOTAL 20 Aymen Lahmeri FW 9 0 9 27 Walid Zamoum FW 4 0 4 17 Abdelmalek Oukil FW 3 1 4 9 Saïd Bouchoucha FW 2 2 4 19 FW 3 0 3 12 Tarek Aggoun DF 3 0 3 26 Abdelaziz Moulay FW 3 0 3 13 Yacine Zeghad DF 2 0 2 7 Salah Bouchama FW 1 0 1 3 Abdelmoumen Chikhi DF 1 0 1 18 MF 1 0 1 88 Youcef Aouissi FW 1 0 1 10 Abdou Salam Jiddou MF 1 0 1 4 Ahmed Guettaf DF 1 0 1 24 MF 1 0 1 Own Goals 1 0 1 Totals 37 3 40 References

Notes and References

1. Web site: ES Sétif : Fin de mission pour Serrar . dzfoot.com . 28 July 2023 . 28 July 2023.
2. Web site: ESS : Sonelgaz désigne Amrani comme entraineur . dzfoot.com . 6 August 2023 . 6 August 2023.
3. Web site: Football: Abdelkader Amrani quitte l'Entente ! . rivalite.dz . 12 September 2023 . 12 September 2023.
4. Web site: ES Sétif : Franck Dumas nouvel entraîneur . mediafootdz.dz . 13 September 2023 . 13 September 2023.
5. Web site: ES Sétif : Franck Dumas quitte le club (officiel) . mediafootdz.dz . 10 February 2024 . 10 February 2024.
6. Web site: ES Sétif : Amar Souayah succède à Franck Dumas . mediafootdz.dz . 10 February 2024 . 10 February 2024.
7. Web site: Sonelgaz présente la nouvelle ES Sétif . mediafootdz.dz . 6 August 2023 . 6 August 2023.
8. Web site: ESS : Les contrats signés par Serrar annulés . dzfoot.com . 21 July 2023 . 28 July 2023.
9. Web site: ES Sétif : Le démenti de la Sonelgaz . dzfoot.com . 24 July 2023 . 28 July 2023.
10. Web site: ES Sétif : Sonelgaz rassure . elwatan-dz.com . 23 July 2023 . 28 July 2023.
11. Web site: ESS : Sonelgaz met les petits plats dans les grands . DZfoot.com . 20 August 2023. 25 August 2023.
12. Web site: ES Sétif : L'équipe d'Amrani se prépare en Tunisie . DZfoot.com . 23 August 2023. 25 August 2023.
13. Web site: ES Sétif : Début des travaux du centre de formation en janvier . DZfoot . December 7, 2023. December 13, 2023.
14. Web site: ES Sétif : Abdelkrim Bira en charge de la transformation . DZfoot . May 5, 2024. May 6, 2024.
15. Web site: FICHE DU CLUB: ES SÉTIF.
16. Web site: Joueurs du ES Sétif.
17. Web site: استعارة اوكيل لموسم . annasronline.com . 10 August 2023 . 10 August 2023.
18. Web site: في حضور 15 لاعبا جديدا: تقديم لاعبي الوفاق على الطريقة الأوروبية . djazairess.com . 20 August 2023 . 20 August 2023.
19. Web site: CRB : Hamidi prêté à l'ES Sétif . mediafootdz.dz . 14 August 2023 . 14 August 2023.
20. Web site: المالي لاجي موريبا يوقع و يلتحق بتربص العاصمة . bola.dz . 15 August 2023 . 15 August 2023.
21. Web site: زعيتري يتحصل على وثائق تسريحه ويلتحق بوفاق سطيف . bola.dz . 16 August 2023 . 16 August 2023.
22. Web site: [Souleymane Coulibaly] announces he has signed for Algerian team ES Sétif ]. reddit.com . 19 August 2023 . 19 August 2023.
23. Web site: لجنة المنازعات تمنح رقيق التسريح الآلي . bola.dz . 20 August 2023 . 20 August 2023.
24. Web site: ESS: 13 NOUVEAUX JOUEURS RECRUTÉS . derbypresse.dz . 17 August 2023 . 17 August 2023.
25. Web site: وفاق سطيف يتعاقد مع 16 لاعبًا جديدًا بينهم 4 حراس مرمى . gate.ahram.org.eg . 21 August 2023 . 21 August 2023.
26. Web site: لحمري يغادر على شكل إعارة لوفاق سطيف . bola.dz . 19 August 2023 . 19 August 2023.
27. Web site: Mercato : l'ES Sétif assure les services de cinq joueurs . mediafootdz.dz . 4 February 2024 . 4 February 2024.
28. Web site: ES Sétif : Cinq joueurs ont signé pour le mercato d'hiver . dzfoot.com . 5 February 2024 . 5 February 2024.
29. Web site: Mercato : Ghiles Guenaoui rejoint le CS Constantine (officiel) . dzfoot.com . 4 August 2023 . 6 August 2023.
30. Web site: L'Algérien Youcef Fellahi Cabiste jusqu'en 2027 . mosaiquefm.net . 5 August 2023 . 5 August 2023.
31. Web site: الأندية تواصل تدعيم صفوفها . elkhabar.com . 19 August 2023 . 19 August 2023.
32. Web site: نكامبي يؤهل مع السنافر . annasronline.com . 22 August 2023 . 22 August 2023.
33. Web site: ES Sétif – Résiliation de contrat pour quatre joueurs . africafootunited.com . 25 August 2023 . 25 August 2023.
34. Web site: ادارة وفاق سطيف تفسخ عقود 4 لاعبين جدد . annasronline.com . 27 August 2023 . 27 August 2023.
35. Web site: إدارة وفاق سطيف تفسخ عقود عدة لاعبين . ennaharonline.com . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023.
36. Web site: ادارة وفاق سطيف تفسخ عقود ثلاثة لاعبين . annasronline.com . 9 January 2024 . 9 January 2024.
37. Web site: Souleymane Coulibaly a plié bagages . lekpakpatosportif.net . 19 February 2024 . 19 February 2024.
38. Web site: Ligue 1 Mobilis 2023-2024 : le calendrier dévoilé . .mediafootdz.dz . 24 August 2023 . 24 August 2023.