# 2023–24 ES Sétif season

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

   I hope that this project will be done as soon as possible, confided the first manager of the Sonelgaz group. I am the first supporter of ES Sétif. Congratulations to the wilaya of Sétif. We hope for many titles in the future. The team has a game to play on Wednesday and we hope they will win it to be on the podium.
— Statement by the CEO of Sonelgaz regarding the purchase of the majority of shares in ES Setif.
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. 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.
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.
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. 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.
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.

## Squad list

Players and squad numbers last updated on 5 February 2024. Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Position | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Signed from |
| Goalkeepers ||||||
| 1 | GK | Mohamed Lotfi Anis Osmani | (1996-06-27)27 June 1996 (aged 27) | Unattached |
| 23 | GK | Imad Benchlef | (1993-10-12)12 October 1993 (aged 29) | USM Alger |
| 25 | GK | Zakaria Saidi | (1996-08-05)5 August 1996 (aged 27) | JS Saoura |
| Defenders ||||||
| 2 | CB | Drice Chaabi | (1997-09-20)20 September 1997 (aged 25) | Francs Borains |
| 3 | LB | Abdelmoumen Chikhi | (1996-02-29)29 February 1996 (aged 27) | CR Belouizdad |
| 4 | CB | Ahmed Guettaf | (2002-06-02)2 June 2002 (aged 21) | AS Saint-Priest |
| 5 | RB | Mohamed Khoutir Ziti | (1989-04-19)19 April 1989 (aged 34) | Nasr Benghazi |
| 12 | CB | Tarek Aggoun | (1997-10-27)27 October 1997 (aged 25) | Al-Sahel SC |
| 13 | CB | Yacine Zeghad | (2001-11-29)29 November 2001 (aged 21) | NC Magra |
| 16 | CB | Moriba Diarra | (1995-12-30)30 December 1995 (aged 27) | Stade Malien |
| 22 | LB | Belkacem Brahimi | (1994-01-20)20 January 1994 (aged 29) | MC Alger |
| 65 | RB | Imad Reguieg | (2002-06-02)2 June 2002 (aged 21) | MC Oran |
| Midfielders ||||||
| 6 | MF | Amir Yahia | (1996-07-18)18 July 1996 (aged 27) | US Souf |
| 7 | MF | Salah Bouchama | (2001-10-22)22 October 2001 (aged 21) | Youth system |
| 10 | MF | Abdou Salam Jiddou | (2000-02-01)1 February 2000 (aged 23) | Unattached |
| 15 | MF | Sami Guediri | (1997-08-18)18 August 1997 (aged 26) | Unattached |
| 18 | MF | Taher Benkhelifa | (1994-06-10)10 June 1994 (aged 29) | USM Alger |
| 21 | MF | Zineddine Benboulaid | (1997-11-12)12 November 1997 (aged 25) | RC Arbaâ |
| 24 | MF | Amir Nouri | (1994-07-10)10 July 1994 (aged 29) | Stade Briochin |
| Forwards ||||||
| 9 | FW | Saïd Bouchoucha | (1998-01-18)18 January 1998 (aged 25) | JSM Tiaret |
| 11 | FW | Ramdane Hitala | (1995-02-08)8 February 1995 (aged 28) | MC El Bayadh |
| 14 | FW | Abdesslem Bouchouareb | (1997-12-10)10 December 1997 (aged 26) | USM Alger |
| 17 | FW | Abdelmalek Oukil | (1996-07-07)7 July 1996 (aged 27) | MC Alger |
| 20 | FW | Aimen Lahmeri | (1996-05-28)28 May 1996 (aged 27) | JS Saoura |
| 26 | FW | Abdelaziz Moulay | (1999-04-20)20 April 1999 (aged 24) | ASO Chlef |
| 27 | FW | Walid Zamoum | (1997-06-10)10 June 1997 (aged 26) | JSM Béjaïa |

## Transfers
### In
#### Summer

| Date | Pos | Player | Moving from | Fee |
| 10 August 2023 | FW | Abdelmalek Oukil | MC Alger | Loan |
| 14 August 2023 | MF | Belaid Hamidi | CR Belouizdad | Loan |
| 15 August 2023 | DF | Moriba Diarra | Stade Malien | Free transfer |
| 16 August 2023 | DF | Zakaria Zaitri | JS Saoura | Free transfer |
| 17 August 2023 | FW | Souleymane Coulibaly | Karmiotissa | Free transfer |
| 17 August 2023 | DF | Imad Reguig | MC Oran | Free transfer |
| 17 August 2023 | GK | Zakaria Saidi | JS Saoura | Free transfer |
| 17 August 2023 | DF | Abdelmoumen Chikhi | CR Belouizdad | Free transfer |
| 17 August 2023 | MF | Islam Bouloudène | CR Belouizdad | Free transfer |
| 17 August 2023 | MF | Zineddine Benboulaid | RC Arbaâ | Free transfer |
| 17 August 2023 | MF | Saïd Bouchoucha | JSM Tiaret | Free transfer |
| 17 August 2023 | GK | Imad Benchlef | USM Alger | Free transfer |
| 17 August 2023 | FW | Aymen Lahmeri | JS Saoura | Loan |
| 17 August 2023 | DF | Yacine Zeghad | NC Magra | Free transfer |
| 17 August 2023 | MF | Amir Yahia | US Souf | Free transfer |

#### Winter

| Date | Pos | Player | Moving from | Fee |
| 4 February 2024 | DF | Ahmed Guettaf | AS Saint-Priest | Free transfer |
| 4 February 2024 | FW | Ramdane Hitala | MC El Bayadh | Free transfer |
| 4 February 2024 | MF | Taher Benkhelifa | USM Alger | Free transfer |
| 4 February 2024 | FW | Abdesslem Bouchouareb | USM Alger | Free transfer |
| 4 February 2024 | FW | Abdelaziz Moulay | ASO Chlef | Undisclosed |

### Out
#### Summer

| Date | Pos | Player | Moving to | Fee |
| 16 July 2023 | FW | Zerroug Boucif | Paradou AC | Loan return |
| 4 August 2023 | FW | Ghiles Guenaoui | CS Constantine | Free transfer |
| 5 August 2023 | FW | Youcef Fellahi | CA Bizertin | Free transfer |
| 19 August 2023 | DF | Hamza Salem | US Biskra | Free transfer |
| 22 August 2023 | FW | Enow Nkembe | CS Constantine | Free transfer |
| 25 August 2023 | MF | Youcef Dali | Unattached | Free transfer (Released) |
| 25 August 2023 | DF | Tarek Belouchat | Unattached | Free transfer (Released) |
| 25 August 2023 | FW | Mohamed Aimen Akziz | Unattached | Free transfer (Released) |
| 27 August 2023 | DF | Kheireddine Benamrane | Unattached | Free transfer (Released) |
| 27 August 2023 | MF | Houssem Ouassni | Unattached | Free transfer (Released) |
| 27 August 2023 | MF | Bassem Chaouti | Unattached | Free transfer (Released) |
| 27 August 2023 | MF | Youcef Serraoui | Unattached | Free transfer (Released) |
| 27 August 2023 | DF | Islem Chebbour | Unattached | Free transfer (Released) |

#### Winter

| Date | Pos | Player | Moving to | Fee |
| 9 January 2024 | DF | Zakaria Zaitri | Free agent | Free transfer (Released) |
| 9 January 2024 | MF | Nassim Yattou | Free agent | Free transfer (Released) |
| 9 January 2024 | FW | Abdelhak Askar | Free agent | Free transfer (Released) |
| 19 February 2024 | FW | Souleymane Coulibaly | Free agent | Free transfer (Released) |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Competition | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Ligue 1 | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 37 | 37 | +0 | 046.67 | — | 5th | 15 September 2023 | 14 June 2024 |
| Algerian Cup | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 050.00 | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | 2 February 2024 | 9 March 2024 |
| Total | 32 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 046.88 |
Updated to match played 14 June 2024 Source: Competitions

### Ligue 1
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 3 | CS Constantine | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 46 | 30 | +16 | 53 | Qualification for CAF Confederation Cup |
| 4 | USM Alger | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 40 | 32 | +8 | 49 | Qualification for CAF Confederation Cup |
| 5 | ES Sétif | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 48 | |
| 6 | Paradou AC | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 36 | 22 | +14 | 42 | |
| 7 | JS Kabylie | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 33 | 27 | +6 | 42 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 14 June 2024. Source: Competitive matches

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | D | D | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | L | L | W | W | D | L | W | D | W | L | D | L | W | W |
| Position | 10 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |

#### Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 24 August 2023.
All times are local, WAT (UTC+1).
Win  Draw  Loss  Postponed

### Algerian Cup
## Squad information
### Playing statistics

    As of 14 June 2024
| No. | Pos | Player | Nat | Ligue 1 | Ligue 1 | Ligue 1 | Algerian Cup | Algerian Cup | Algerian Cup | Total | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos | Player | Nat | App | St | G | App | St | G | App | St | G |
| 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 | Total | Total | Total | 30 | 30 | 37 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 32 | 32 | 40 |
Last updated: 14 June 2024 Source: soccerway.com

### Goalscorers

    As of 14 June 2024
Includes all competitive matches.
| No. | Nat. | Player | Pos. | L 1 | AC | 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 | | Souleymane Coulibaly | 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 | | Taher Benkhelifa | 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 | | Amir Nouri | MF | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 37 | 3 | 40 |