Nadjem Lens Annab (born 20 July 1988) is a Belgian-

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 ...

n professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Personal

Born in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, Annab's family is originally from

. His father is an ethnic

Chaoui The Chaoui people or ''Shawyia'' (, ) are a Berbers, Berber ethnic group native to the Aurès region in northeastern Algeria. They call themselves ''Išawiyen''/''Icawiyen'' (pronounced ) and speak the Shawiya language. They are the second larg ...

from

Merouana Merouana (Tamazight: Tamerwant) is a city in Batna Province, Algeria. It is situated around 40 km from Batna City, and is inhabited by the Chaoui Berbers. Merouana is one of the oldest local daïras (districts). It is the capital of the ...

, while his mother is also from the

Batna province Batna Province (, Latn, ar, Wilāyat Bātnah) is a provinces of Algeria, province of Algeria, in the region of Aurès. The capital is Batna (city), Batna. Localities in this province include N'Gaous, Merouana and Timgad. Belezma National Park i ...

. He has two brothers and a younger sister.

Club career

Annab signed a contract with Westerlo in April 2008, while he was playing for Eisden Sport in Limburg Third Division, the 7th of 8 levels in the

Belgian football league system The Belgian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in Belgium. Men's system The league system underwent restructuring which was approved by the Royal Belgian Football Association. One important step was the ...

. Annab also played

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

for ZVK Eisden Dorp at that moment, but quit after his surprise transfer. Lens Annab made his debut at the highest level in a 0–1 victory against

Mouscron Mouscron (; Dutch language, Dutch and , ; Picard language, Picard and Walloon language, Walloon: ''Moucron'') is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Belgium, Belgian Hainaut Provinc ...

on 12 September 2009 and from then on featured regularly in the team. Following the relegation of Westerlo in 2012, Annab chose to accept an offer from

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 ...

, allowing him to move to his second home country,

. On 5 August 2014 Lens Annab signs a contract with second division team ASV Geel.

References

External links

Player profile at sporza.be
* 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Maaseik Chaoui people Belgian people of Algerian-Berber descent Belgian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders K.V.C. Westerlo players ES Sétif players Lierse S.K. players A.S. Verbroedering Geel players K.V.V. Thes Sport Tessenderlo players K. Patro Eisden Maasmechelen players Belgian Pro League players Footballers from Limburg (Belgium) Belgian people of Algerian descent 21st-century Belgian sportsmen {{belgium-footy-midfielder-stub