Union Sportive Madinet Khenchela (), known as USM Khenchela or simply USMK, is an Algerian professional football club based in Khenchela. The club was founded in 1943 and its colours are white and black. Their home stadium, Hammam Ammar Stadium, has a capacity of 8,000 spectators. The club is currently playing in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1.

History In 1970–71 Algerian Cup semi-finals in Khenchela against USM Alger who was not welcomed because of a word used by their supporters which is that Khenchela is “Shawiya” a term that has been misinterpreted and they prepared a hostile reception, and the match lasted four hours due to the storming to the stadium several times by the supporters. After the end of the match USM Alger players who were accompanied by a handful of fans, remained locked in the dressing rooms until midnight and after the intervention of a Gendarmerie brigade sent from Batna, then the Algerian Football Federation at that time punished the two clubs by playing 50 kilometers away from its stadium for one year. Khenchela saw the birth of another club that became known thanks to its good performances during the 1990s, at a time when USM Khenchela was struggling in the lower divisions, Ittihad Riadhi Baladiat Khenchela. created in 1985, Subsequently, the authorities decided to merge these two clubs into one, but the project fell through and a few years later IRBK ended up disappearing from the football scene after 28 years of existence.

The club was promoted for the 2010–11 season of the newly created Championnat National de Football Amateur due to the professionalisation of the first two divisions in Algeria.

On August 5, 2020, USM Khenchela were promoted to the Algerian Ligue 2.

Promotion to Ligue 1 for the first time On May 21, 2022, USM Khenchela were promoted to the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 returns to the national elite that it left almost 50 years ago. The Ciskaoua will thus once again taste the sensations of the Ligue 1 where they had played for two seasons at the beginning of the 1970s. On February 2, 2023, an agreement was signed between Groupe Cosider and USM Khenchela, Under this agreement which covers a renewable year, the club will benefit from financial support during the 2022–23 sports season. This agreement initialed in the presence of the Wali of Khenchela, aims underlined the CEO of Cosider to support the evolution of the club through a sponsorship formula, under which Groupe Cosider will financially support all of the activities of USM Khenchela.

During the visit of the President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune on May 31, 2024, to Khenchela, he promised the leaders and fans of USM Khenchela to find a lessor capable of taking charge of L'USMK. The Algerian public telecommunications company Algérie Télécom, will apparently be the new owner of USM Khenchela, according to a post published on the club's official page. The club's president, Walid Boukrouma, said that "preliminary discussions addressing the aspects of the transfer of ownership of the club to this national company have already been initiated with its CEO, stressing that the realization of this acquisition will not happen overnight. It will take a few months to finalize all the necessary administrative procedures.

On August 1, 2024, Algérie Télécom and Union Sportive Madinet Khenchela have signed a partnership agreement, making Algérie Télécom the official sponsor. The signing ceremony took place at the headquarters of the General Directorate of Algérie Télécom in Algiers, in the presence of the Chairman and CEO of Algérie Télécom and the President of USM Khenchela Walid Boukrouma. Knowing that Algérie Télécom has started procedures to buy the club, this partnership is part of a global approach aimed at supporting the club in the development and strengthening of its capacities for the 2024–25 season.

On 20 January 2026, Algérie Télécom announced its takeover of the club.

Players

Algerian teams are limited to four foreign players. The squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player;

Current squad

Personnel Current technical staff

Position Staff Head coach Assistant coach Goalkeeping coach Rabie Bouazzi Fitness coach Ahmed Khebbeb

Statistics

Recent seasons SeasonLeagueCupOtherAfricaTop goalscorer(s)DivisionPosPtsPWDLGFGANameGoals1962–63Critérium d'Honneur 2nd 42 18 10 4 4 Unknown 1963–64Division d'Honneur 3rd 14 Round of 16 1964–65Division d'Honneur 11th 26 Round of 32 1965–66Division d'Honneur 7th 30 Round of 32 1966–67Division d'Honneur Unknown 1967–68Division d'Honneur 1st Unknown 1968–69Nationale II 6th 42 22 6 8 8 25 29Round of 64 1969–70Nationale II 6th 44 22 7 8 7 27 27Round of 32 1970–71Nationale II 3rd 51 24 10 7 7 24 20Semi-finals 1971–72Nationale II Unknown 1972–73National II 3rd 60 26 14 6 6 44 20Unknown 1973–74National II 1st 51 22 15 6 1 35 11Unknown 1974–75Nationale I 11th 57 30 11 5 14 24 40Round of 64 1975–76Nationale I 14th 47 30 4 9 17 28 53Round of 16 1976–77Nationale II 2nd 26 Round of 16 1977–78Division 2 2nd 26 Unknown 1978–79National II 2nd 26 Unknown 1979–80National II 9th 43 22 5 11 6 18 21Round of 32 1962–63D1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Round of 64 1962–63D1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Round of 64 1962–63D1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Round of 64 1962–63D1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Round of 64 2009–10Inter-régions 5th 49 30 14 7 9 39 28Round of 16 2010–11DNA 12th 23 26 5 8 13 18 33Last regional round 2011–12DNA 3rd 44 26 13 5 8 32 28PenultimateRegional Round 2012–13DNA 8th 37 26 10 7 9 28 28Unknown 2013–14DNA 7th 40 30 12 4 14 35 44Last regional round 2014–15DNA 10th 36 30 8 12 10 23 26Last regional round 2015–16DNA 9th 37 30 10 7 13 33 40PenultimateRegional Round 2016–17DNA 6th 39 30 10 9 11 39 37Round of 32 2017–18DNA 2nd 50 30 14 8 8 36 25Round of 64 2018–19DNA 2nd 62 30 15 8 4 38 20Round of 32 2019–20DNA 6th 36 24 9 9 6 28 19Round of 64 2020–21Ligue 2 4th 38 22 10 8 4 26 19Not played 2021–22Ligue 2 1st 67 30 19 10 1 60 22Not playedSofiane Bayazid 162022–23Ligue 1 8th 42 30 12 6 12 29 29Round of 16Sofiane Bayazid 142023–24Ligue 1 10th 39 30 11 6 13 33 39Round of 16Tosin Omoyele 102024–25Ligue 1 9th 40 30 11 7 12 28 38Round of 64Hamid Djaouchi 9

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