Hicham Boudaoui was born on 23 September 1999 in Bechar, Algeria. He emerged from Paradou AC, the academy-centred club that has produced several modern Algerian internationals, and his early education gave him a clean technical base unusual for a defensive midfielder from the domestic league.
He broke through with Paradou and quickly attracted attention for his maturity, pressing and ability to play forward through midfield. In 2019 OGC Nice signed him, making him one of the clearest examples of Paradou's export pathway to Europe. His first years in Ligue 1 were affected by injuries, but when fit he became a useful and intelligent midfield presence.
By the mid-2020s Boudaoui had grown into a regular Nice midfielder, used as a ball-winning eight, a shuttler or a deeper controller depending on the coach's structure. He remains at OGC Nice in 2026, where his value is in balance: covering ground, connecting short passes and letting more attacking players operate in cleaner zones.
For Algeria he debuted in 2018 and was part of the squad that won the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, still a young player at the time. He has stayed in the national-team picture through World Cup qualification and AFCON cycles, offering continuity as Algeria moved from the Belmadi era toward the squad that returned to the World Cup in 2026.
Standing around 1.75 m, Boudaoui is a right-footed midfielder whose game is based on anticipation, pressing angles and short-passing security. He is less spectacular than many Algerian attackers, but tactically valuable. His profile recalls Idrissa Gueye in terms of mobility and ball-winning, with a softer Paradou-school touch in possession.