[3] In contrast to the situation in the North, the spread of sports through the southern regions of Algeria, under the auspices of the White Fathers (Pères Blancs), predominantly involved the indigenous populations.

They were created through an initiative of the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and catered predominantly to young people of European origin.

In 1931, the association of St. Philip of Algiers, founded in 1922[14] and in which sport, such as gymnastics, and military training took place, began to allow female membership, including within their administration.

[15] On 27 January 1963, during the year following Algerian independence, the statutes of the OPS were changed: military training was brought to an end and the association was renamed Olympique de Saint-Eugène (OSE), placing less emphasis on religion; membership continued to be made up of French nationals however.

Female members of the religious establishment were responsible for the creation of Catholic women's sports associations in Algeria after the First World War;[11] the Dragonflies of the Redoubt, of Birmandreis, were founded in 1926 for example.

[20] The regional unions also provided training sessions for diocese-level association leaders,[N 8] supported and supervised through the management framework based in France.

It was during a mission to Algiers in this context, during the autumn of 1942, that Eugenie Duisit, Deputy Secretary-General of the FGSPF, the authoritative body for France's zone libre at the time, joined the Free French Forces.

Notable examples of those who did participate are: Nini Derdéche Philippeville, the all-round French cross country runner-up in 1956,[20] and Lila Khelif from Algiers, Algerian 1956 junior 800m, shot put, and javelin champion.

[20] Catholic female youth sports associations, which for so long had been the exclusive reserve of Europeans, nevertheless largely ceased to exist with the arrival of Algerian independence.

[27] Named Primate of Africa and the apostolic delegate for Sahara[25] and the Sudan by Pius IX in 1884, he founded the Missionary Society of the White Fathers to work with the tribes of M'zab.

[31] The Société sportive saharienne (SSS), (English:Saharan Sports Association) was listed in the Journal officiel de l'Algérie (Official Gazette of Algeria) on 15 November 1938.

The association la Vie au Grand Air[N 13] in Geryville (now El Bayadh), which offered athletics, football, and basketball, had three Muslims amongst its 11 board members.

But power-sharing proved problematic, and two further associations were formed in 1939: l'Union sportive geryvilloise (Geryville Athletic Union) led by the Agha Si Larbi Ben Din, head of the zaouïa of the Oualed Sidi Cheikh and Knight of the Legion of Honor, and the Étoile du sud[N 14] under the leadership of the White Fathers.

[32] Due to the efforts of the White Fathers and the military, the sahrawi people of the South also began participating in organised sport, even though it had been established primarily for Europeans in the northern cities.

[1] The settled population gained access to participation sports – mainly football – and the official authorities properly organised and managed the traditional physical pursuits of the nomadic Bedouin.