Hamer Bouazza (; born 22 February 1985) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Bouazza spent most of his football career in England, having also played in Turkey, France, Cyprus, Spain, Algeria and Tunisia. An Algerian international between 2007 and 2013, Bouazza played for his country in two editions of the

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

in Angola and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

in South Africa.

Early life

Hamer Bouazza was born on 22 February 1985 in Évry, Essonne in France. He grew up in Évry with his parents, two brothers and two sisters. In October 2005, speaking about his early life, Bouazza said: "Sometimes I didn't go to school because all that I wanted was to play football. It was football, football. I started playing at nine and when I was 15 I got a chance with

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

. It did not go well and after a year I returned to Évry."

Club career

Watford

In 2003, at the age of 16, Bouazza moved to England having won a scholarship at

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

following a trial. He made his first team debut as an 88th-minute substitute on 7 February 2004 in a 2–2 with

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of EFL Championship, Championship club Watford F.C., Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, w ...

. A week later, he scored on his full debut, a 2–0 home win over

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

. He made a total of nine appearances in the 2003–04 season. The following season, he made 28 league and eight cup appearances, scoring three goals. During the 2005–06 season, Bouazza was overshadowed by

Darius Henderson Darius Alexis Henderson (born 7 September 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Sutton, England, (although he is often mistakenly cited as being born in Doncaster, where he moved at a young age and ...

Marlon King Marlon Francis King (born 26 April 1980) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), striker. Born and raised in south London, he started his career in non-League football with Dulw ...

, and

Ashley Young Ashley Simon Young (born 9 July 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger, midfielder, or full-back. He is currently a free agent. Young started his career as a winger at Watford and made his first senior appearance i ...

and missed a lengthy spell with a broken metatarsal but still tallied three goals in nineteen games, one of which was the fourth in Watford's 4–1 win over

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

runners-up

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. On 6 October 2005, Bouazza was loaned out to

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

club

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

, initially for one month, but later extended to the end of the year. He scored three goals in 15 games for Swindon. Bouazza broke his metatarsal during a Watford home game against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

on 4 March 2006, and had the bone pinned in an operation. On 21 May 2006, he played in Watford's 3–0 win over

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

in the Championship play-off final at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute. Throughout the 2006–07 season, with Watford in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, Bouazza started most league games, principally as a left-sided winger, scoring five goals and winning the club's "Young Player of the Season award".

Fulham

On 8 August 2007, Bouazza joined Premier League club

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on a four-year contract for an initial fee of £3m (potentially rising to £4m, depending on appearances and Fulham's divisional status). He his debut in a 2–1 defeat to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

on 12 August. However, after just three appearances he dislocated his shoulder in a 2–1 defeat to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 18 August. He returned to the Fulham starting XI after a couple of weeks out, and scored his first Fulham goal with a close-range free kick against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in a 3–3 draw at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...

on 22 September 2007. He made 22 appearances for Fulham in the 2007–08 season, scoring one goal. On 9 August 2008, he signed for Championship club

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

on a season-long loan, making his debut later that day as an 83rd-minute substitute in a 3–0 win over

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

at The Valley. He scored his first goal for ''the Addicks'' on 23 August in a 4–2 home win over

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. On 8 January 2009, after a total of 27 appearances and four goals at Charlton, Fulham activated a recall clause in the loan agreement and immediately loaned him to another Championship side,

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

, for the remainder of the season. Bouazza made his Birmingham debut in their next league game, a 1–1 draw at home to

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

on 17 January, and scored his first goal, a clever finish after a defensive error, in a 2–0 win over

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

at the

Keepmoat Stadium The Eco-Power Stadium (formerly known as Keepmoat Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Doncaster, England, with a capacity of 15,231. It cost approximately £20 million to construct, as part of the wider Lakeside Sports Complex that it ...

on 14 March. He made a total of 16 appearances for Birmingham, helping them win promotion to the Premier League as Championship runners-up.

Sivasspor

On 18 August 2009 Bouazza signed for Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...

. However, his stay in

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

was short lived, lasting only five days. He played one game for the club, a 3–0 home defeat to Shahktar Donetsk in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

play-off round The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. On 23 August, he left Sivasspor, stating that he did not wish to remain in Turkey, and agreeing a mutual termination of his contract. Sivasspor head-coach Bulent Uygun said they had to release Bouazza as they didn't want him to damage the morale of the team.

Blackpool

On 1 September 2009, Bouazza signed for Championship club

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

on a one-year contract with an option for a further year. He made his debut on 12 September as a 73rd-minute substitute in a 2–1 defeat to

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

at the

Walkers Stadium King Power Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England, and the home of Leicester City. The stadium opened in 2002 as the Walkers Stadium and has a capacity of 32,259. The club attracted worldwide attentio ...

. He made his full debut four days later in ''the Seasiders''' 2–1 win over

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

. His first goal came on 26 September, in a 2–0 home win over

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

, when he nutmegged defender Tom Williams before curling the ball into the net from a tight angle. In January 2010, Bouazza's goal against Peterborough was voted by Blackpool supporters the best goal of 2009, and so became the club's nominated goal for the Goal of the Year at the annual Football League Awards to be held on 14 March. He missed the whole of January, while he was away in the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. However, on his return to Blackpool in early February it was discovered that he had picked up an injury in the tournament, believed to be a

hernia A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...

. His return to action came on 16 February as an 81st-minute substitute in the 2–0 home win over

, when he set up D. J. Campbell to score Blackpool's second goal in injury time. He was released at the end of the season.

Millwall

On 28 January 2011, Bouazza was loaned out by

AC Arles-Avignon AC, A.C., A/C, or Ac often refers to: * Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C * Alternating current, a type of electrical current in which the current repeatedly changes direction AC, A.C. or Ac may also refer to: Arts and entertainment G ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

until the end of the season. Bouazza made his debut for Millwall on 19 February. He came on as a substitute and scored a curling free-kick after being on the field for only 10 minutes, in a 3–2 home defeat to Middlesbrough. Millwall completed the permanent signing of Bouazza on 19 April on a two-year contract, for a fee believed to be in the region of €100,000.

AC Omonia

On 22 June 2012, Bouazza signed for

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

club

AC Omonia Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia (; ''Athlitikós Sýllogos Omónoia Lefkosías''), commonly known as Omonia Nicosia, or simply Omonia (also Romanization of Greek, transliterated as Omonoia), is a Cyprus, Cypriot professional multi-sport club, esta ...

on a one-year contract, despite having initially rejected a contract offer from the club. However, he left the club in August, having only been in Cyprus for a few weeks.

Racing Santander

In September 2012, Bouazza moved to Spain, joining

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

side

Racing Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system ...

. In December, following a 1–0 defeat against

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city and municipality in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, where it is one of the two capitals, the other being Terrassa. It is located on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona, a ...

, Bouazza was chased by three masked men, leading to a confrontation outside of his home. He left the club after his contract expired at the end of the season, and had a trial with Scottish team

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

in the summer of 2013.

Later career

In December 2013 he made his debut for Algerian side

ES Sétif Entente Sportive Sétifienne (), known as Entente de Sétif, commonly referred to as ES Sétif or ESS for short, is an Algerian professional association football, football club based in Sétif. The club was founded in 1958 and its colours are bl ...

and made three further appearances before leaving to join

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

team

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

. He appeared in 80 matches and scored 20 goals across three seasons, with the majority coming in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

following Red Star's promotion in Bouazza's debut season. In January 2017, Bouazza joined

Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 The Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1, formerly known as the Tunisian National Championship between 1956 and 1994, is the highest-level association football, football tournament in Tunisia and is organized by the Tunisian Football Federation and t ...

side

Étoile du Sahel Étoile may refer to: Places ;France * Charles de Gaulle – Étoile, station of the Paris Métro * Étoile-Saint-Cyrice, commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in France * Étoile-sur-Rhône, commune in the Drôme department in France * L'Éto ...

International career

Early career

Although born in France, Bouazza was approached by the

Algerian Football Federation The Algerian Football Federation (AFF); () is the governing body of Association football, football in Algeria. Formed in 1962 and was based in the capital Algiers. It has jurisdiction on the Algerian football league system and is in charge of th ...

, to play at national level for them. Bouazza accepted, explaining later: "I grew up in Paris, yes, but I've always known my nationality. I am Algerian, just as my father and mother are. My grandmother lives just outside

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, and I have many cousins there." Bouazza made his debut for

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

against

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

on 7 February 2007 and scored his first goal in a 3–2 victory over

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

on 20 November 2007.

2010 World Cup and 2010 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Bouazza played in Algeria's opening second round qualification game for the

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, a 1–0 loss to

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

on 31 May 2008 at the Stade Leopold Senghor,

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

, coming on as a second-half substitute. However, he didn't make any further appearances as Algeria won group Six and progressed to the third round. He then played in the opening third-round game, an away 0–0 draw with

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

on 28 March 2009, again as a substitute. He continued to be used as a second-half substitute in Algeria's next three qualifying games, a 3–1 win over

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

on 7 June, a 2–0 away win over

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

on 20 June and a 1–0 home win over Zambia on 6 September, a result which booked Algeria a place at the

2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 2 ...

. On 13 November, as the Algerian squad arrived in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

for their vital

World Cup qualifier The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

against Egypt the following day, their team bus was attacked by stone-throwers. Three players were injured by flying glass, although Bouazza himself was not. Speaking later about the attack, Bouazza said: "I had a very bad feeling when we landed at the airport because there was no security. And when our coach was attacked on the road from the airport to the city, it was the most terrifying experience of my life. People threw rocks at us, and there was nobody to stop them. Some of the players were hit by flying glass and I only escaped because I was lying on the floor. That is no way to prepare for a World Cup match."

2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals

In January 2010 Bouazza was in the Algeria squad at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, as they reached the semi-finals; finishing the tournament in 4th place. He was a second-half substitute in Algeria's first two

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

matches at the

Estádio 11 de Novembro The Estádio 11 de Novembro is a multi-use stadium in Talatona (near Luanda), Angola. Completed in 2010 ahead of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship rea ...

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

, a 0–3 defeat to

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

on 11 January, and a 1–0 victory over

, three days later. His first start in the tournament came in Algeria's final group game, a 0–0 draw with

on 18 January at the same venue; a result which saw Algeria qualify for the quarter-finals. On 24 January Bouazza scored the winning goal against

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

, to ensure Algeria qualified for the semi-finals. Just two minutes after coming on as a substitute at the start of extra time, with the scores level at 2–2, Bouazza's headed goal gave Algeria the lead and with it a 3–2 victory. Four days later he was an unused substitute as Algeria lost their semi-final 0–4 to North African rivals Egypt, but started the 3rd place play-off on 30 January, which they lost 0–1 to

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

at the Ombaka National Stadium in

Benguela Benguela (; Umbundu: Luombaka) is a city in western Angola, capital of Benguela Province. Benguela is one of Angola's most populous cities with a population of 555,124 in the city and 561,775 in the municipality, at the 2014 census. History Por ...

. He made a total of five appearances in the tournament in Angola, three of them as a substitute.

Personal life

Bouazza is a practising

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. He observes

ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

each year,

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

during daylight hours for a month. He has admitted fasting can be hard, but said it was part of his faith. "I'm proud to be a Muslim. I'm not going to say (combining fasting and football) is easy. Ramadan is hard, and I try to do my best every time. You know God is there to help us, we believe in Him. We just need to pray and believe in Him."

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bouazza goal''

Honours

Watford *

Football League Championship play-offs The English Football League (EFL) Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-of ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Birmingham City *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

second-place promotion: 2008–09

References

External links