Nicolas Anelka will not be able to continue his career in Algeria because he is too old under league rules.
Following the end of his contract with the Indian Super League side Mumbai City FC last month, Anelka, 35, has been seeking a new challenge.
The former France international trained with NA Hussein Dey -- a club based in the Algerian capital Algiers - last week, and the club's president had revealed he was hoping to sign the former France international, whom he claimed wanted "to come to help Algerian football."
However, Algerian law states foreign players have to be under 27 and currently play for their country if they want to sign for a club in the country, and though NA Hussein Dey had hoped to be granted special dispensation to sign Anelka, the Algerian Football League (LFP) has rejected their request.
"We have no intention of opening up a breach in this sense," Mahfoud Kerbadj, the LFP president, said. "The laws relating to foreign players in the Algerian league are clear: only those aged under 27 and currently playing for their countries are authorised to sign for our clubs."