The Bay Area’s Algerian population is gearing up as the region plays host to a series of World Cup soccer matches — especially one that will bring the Algerian national team to Santa Clara to play Jordan on June 22. While soccer gets popular in the U.S. every four years during the World Cup, in places like Algeria, soccer – or fútbol as most of the world calls it – is tantamount to religion. “I would say soccer in Algeria is not a sport,” said Wafa Bentaleb, an Algerian ex-pat living in the South Bay. “It’s part of our identity.” Algerian community groups are planning local watch parties, and one of the Bay Area’s only Algerian restaurants, Kayma Algerian Eatery on Fisherman’s Wharf, is planning to stage watch parties uniting two cultural touchstones: food and soccer. “When you grow up watching the World Cup on TV, it’s always far away somewhere else in the world you cannot go,” said Mounir Bahloul, a native of Algeria who owns and runs the restaurant with his wife Wafa Bahloul. “But now it’s here and it’s next door, and we’ll feel more connected to it and feel more part of it.” The Bahloul’s restaurant is known for Algerian specialties of couscous, merguez sausage, lamb and baklawa. Wafa Bahloul is known as the “Queen of Baklava.” On a recent day, several local Algerians popped in to dine and talk about the sacred sport of soccer. “We have a very large Algerian population that lives here already,” said Algerian ex-pat Riad Kaced, who has tickets to all of Algeria’s group stage matches in the U.S. “We’re super excited to meet and host the Algerian fans that will come from throughout the world.” Kaced said Algeria’s national team traces its origins back to 1958 when a group of Algerian professional players playing in France returned to form Algeria’s national team and the growing independence movement against French colonization. “They were more than players,” Kaced said. “They were ambassadors, they showed the Algerian struggle, they exported the Algerian revolution.” These days conversations about Algerian soccer run more along the lines of whether Algeria can take down powerhouse Argentina and its megastar Lionel Messi. But in the World Cup, winning seems to come in a close second to the communities formed around the teams. “We’re looking forward to truly enjoying and appreciating the moment and connecting with other Algerians and non-Algerians – everyone who has a passion for the game,” said Bentaleb during a visit to Kayma. Passion is the default emotion of World Cup fans, whether forged in national pride for present or far-off homelands and adopted countries. In the World Cup, the immigrant and the native cheer side by side. “You’re going to see the passion and the love for the game and the pride that people carry,” said Bentaleb. ...read more read less