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.[8]
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.[9]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.[10][11]
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.[1] 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.[3]Malik Zorgane will supervise the opposing teams while Mourad Delhoum will be responsible for prospecting young players.[3]Isaad Bourahli has been appointed deputy technical director, while Derradji Bendjaballah has been appointed to the club's board of directors.[3] 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.[12]
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.[13] Three days before the first match in Ligue 1ESS 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.[4] On September 13, ES Setif signed Franck Dumas as their new coach, with Slimane Raho as his assistant.[5] 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.[14]
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.[15]
Squad list
Players and squad numbers last updated on 5 February 2024.[16][17] Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
