During soccer season — which runs from late August until the end of May — young men storm stadiums to watch local teams face off in biweekly matches. Unlike those fans, Mr. Sahraoui isn’t concerned with the athletes. He turns his lens toward the surrounding commotion, the fervent faces in the stands.

The atmosphere is electric, to say the least. Algerian law prohibits anyone under 18 to enter the stadiums without a guardian, Mr. Sahraoui said. But that doesn’t stop young boys from trying to jump over fences to see the action.

On the surface, the takeaway is that Algerians are soccer fanatics. But Mr. Sahraoui sees beyond the entertainment. He says the stadiums have become platforms for young men to find a sense of brotherhood and to escape the pressures of daily life. After spending years among those crowds, he adds, he can’t help but link the energy of those games to current protests.