Hamza Bencherif

Hamza Bencherif
Hamza Bencherif
Born	February 9, 1988 (age 38); Paris, France
Occupation	Professional footballer
Years active	2006–present
Known for	Football player for Worksop Town and former Algeria youth international

Hamza Bencherif (; born 9 February 1988) is a professional football player who operates primarily as a defender or midfielder. He currently captains Worksop Town, a club competing in the Northern Premier League. Originating from Paris, Bencherif has played in the Football League for various teams and has represented Algeria at the youth international level.

Club career

Born in Paris, Bencherif started his football journey with Guingamp before moving to the youth academy of Nottingham Forest in August 2006. In October 2007, he secured a one-month loan to Lincoln City, a club in League Two, which was extended for an additional month. During this period, he made 12 appearances and netted a goal against Chesterfield. After the conclusion of the 2008–09 season, Forest released him, leading to a one-year signing with Macclesfield Town, also in League Two, in July 2009. While establishing himself as a regular starter, he sustained a broken ankle in December 2009 that prematurely ended his campaign. He renewed his contract for another year in May 2010 and contributed 11 goals across 46 matches during the 2010–11 season.

Declining Macclesfield’s subsequent contract offer, Bencherif agreed to a two-year deal with Notts County, competing in League One, in June 2011. Upon his release in mid-2013, he signed a short-term contract with League Two side Plymouth Argyle in September of that year, marking his debut with a goal. After making nine appearances, he was released in January 2014 and promptly joined Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 outfit JS Kabylie on an 18-month contract.

Bencherif returned to England by signing a one-year deal with Conference Premier club Lincoln City in August 2014. Following that season, he opted not to renew and instead joined National League team F.C. Halifax Town, where he featured prominently as they secured victory in the 2016 FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium. In May 2016, he committed to a one-year contract with National League side Wrexham. The following January, he was loaned to league rivals York City, participating as they triumphed in the 2017 FA Trophy Final at Wembley. He then signed permanently with York on a one-year contract in June 2017 but was released after the completion of the 2018–19 season.

In June 2019, Bencherif joined National League North club Guiseley and was named Club Captain in January 2021. On 9 June 2022, he transferred to Northern Premier League side Worksop Town.

International career

Between 2005 and 2006, Bencherif earned seven caps and scored once for the Algeria under-20 national team. In 2009, discussions about a senior national team call-up arose due to his impressive performances at Macclesfield Town; however, his season-ending ankle injury prevented this advancement.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National Cup^{[lower-alpha 1]}		League Cup		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Nottingham Forest	2006–07	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2007–08	League One	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	0	0
	2008–09	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lincoln City (loan)	2007–08	League Two	12	1	—		—		1^{[lower-alpha 2]}	0	13	1
Macclesfield Town	2009–10	League Two	19	5	1	0	1	0	1^{[lower-alpha 2]}	0	22	5
	2010–11	League Two	41	11	2	0	1	0	2^{[lower-alpha 2]}	0	46	11
	Total		60	16	3	0	2	0	3	0	68	16
Notts County	2011–12	League One	20	2	3	0	1	0	1^{[lower-alpha 2]}	0	25	2
	2012–13	League One	11	0	1	0	1	0	2^{[lower-alpha 2]}	0	15	0
	Total		31	2	4	0	2	0	3	0	40	2
Plymouth Argyle	2013–14	League Two	7	0	0	0	0	0	2^{[lower-alpha 2]}	1	9	1
JS Kabylie	2013–14	Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1	6	0	1	0	—		—		7	0
Lincoln City	2014–15	Conference Premier	41	6	2	0	—		1^{[lower-alpha 3]}	0	44	6
F.C. Halifax Town	2015–16	National League	41	0	1	0	—		8^{[lower-alpha 3]}	0	50	0
Wrexham	2016–17	National League	27	2	2	0	—		0	0	29	2
York City (loan)	2016–17	National League	17	0	—		—		5^{[lower-alpha 3]}	0	22	0
York City	2017–18	National League North	40	0	2	0	—		2^{[lower-alpha 3]}	0	44		Career total !306 !30 !17 !00 !4 !00 !25 !01 !352 !31

Honours

Halifax Town

FA Trophy: 2015–16

York City

FA Trophy: 2016–17

External links

Player profile on the Guiseley A.F.C. official website

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