The
Egyptians passion for football is unrestrained. Literally. It’s truly more than
just a game for them. Many Americans would speak of the game of soccer with
indifference, whereas Egyptians gush over football with unwavering pride.
Despite the notion that it is just a game to most of us, it can actually be the
difference between life and death in Egypt. It penetrates many facets of their
lives including their daily lives, politics, and government. Egypt’s love
affair with football is dangerous yet revolutionary.
The Middle East as a whole is
infatuated with football and it is the most popular sport in the entire region.
It is by far the most widely watched and participated sport in the Middle East
with no definite second-place sport that rivals it. According to a study, about
six of ten Egyptians follow football leagues on TV or go to local Egyptian
Premier League games and three of ten Egyptians play football regularly whether
it is in private clubs or city streets. Swimming is the next closest sport in
interest level yet it’s clear that it has nowhere near the rabid following
football does with only two of ten Egyptians watching swimming and only one of
ten Egyptians participating in the sport. James Dorsey is a famous writer who
has extensive knowledge on the effect football has had on the Middle East and
he declared that the passion evoked from football rivals religion and Islam to
be specific. Football is so imperative to Egypt that one can’t discuss the
prominent foundations of Egypt like religion and government without football
being in that category.
| Egyptian Fans Cheer Prior to a Match |
An
explanation for the fanaticism revolving football in Egypt may be that Egypt
has it’s own exclusive football league. Many of the Middle Eastern nations do
not have football leagues in their own country so they end up watching the
mainstream European leagues like Spanish La Liga and the English Premier
League. Egypt is an exception, and as a result, their zealotry goes toward the
local teams they watch play. The two most famous Egyptian Premier League teams
Al Ahly and Zamalek are classic examples. There has been a deep-rooted rivalry
between the two squads for over a century. Al Ahly was created in 1907 and
Zamalek was created in 1911 and the two teams have been at loggerheads since.
Sometimes children growing up in Egypt are allowed to pick a team, but
sometimes they are given a team courtesy of their family history. Either way,
once a team is selected, you have to give that team your unconditional loyalty.
Flip-flopping between teams is not acceptable because Egyptians take their
football league exceptionally serious. There are generations after generations
of fans committed to one team that pass it down in their family line and are
not tolerant of bandwagons jumping from one team to the next.
| Fans of Al Ahly Cheer |
If
the regular fan wasn’t passionate enough, there are certain breeds of fans that
call themselves “ultras” who are basically the ultimate fans. Ultras in general
all started out as fan clubs for their respective teams. They are always at games rooting for their
team and slandering opposing teams. Ultras for Al Ahly are called the “Ultras
Ahlawy” and ultras for Zamalek are called “Ultras White Knights.” Tensions were
rising in Egypt in 2011 because the people were not pleased with the way their
president Hosni Mubarak was running the country. Mubarak was an avid football
watcher and would use his country’s love of football to boost his popularity
often, but he was a corrupt president and citizens were afraid of him and the
police. On January 25, 2011, the events of the Arab Spring caught up to Egypt
and the people mustered up the audacity to rebel against their president and
government. Ironically, the Ultras Ahlawy and the Ultras White Knights and all
the other ultra groups were vital in forcing the president to relinquish his
power. Football fan clubs do not appear to have so much courage and manpower to
most people, but the ultras redefined the rulebook by having the awareness and
toughness to overthrow a fraudulent president. There is more than meets the eye
to this ragtag group of football fans that transformed their passion for
football into something more meaningful and widespread. Unfortunately, many
ultras and Egyptian citizens were murdered during the revolt. At least the corruption of
president Hosni Mubarak’s reign was thought to be over once he was ousted.
| An Ultra White Knights Sets a Car on Fire |
| Ultra Converging at Tahrir Square |
The
next several years were supposed to be peaceful, but the Egyptian military possessed
a grudge against anyone who participated in the revolution. They targeted the
ultras especially. On February 1, 2012, 74 people were killed and more than 500
injured in a savage massacre after a football game between Al Ahly and El
Masry. 72 of the people killed were Ultras Ahlawy while the other 2 casualties
were a police officer and an ultra for El Masry. The entire situation was extraordinarily
puzzling and there are whispers that everything was premeditated. For example,
the lights in the stadium went off and the attack occurred thusly. It was a
home game for El Masry in Port Said Stadium and the fans for El Masry
outnumbered Al Ahly’s fans 13,000-1,200. The Ultras Ahlawy have been prone to
engage in violence in the past, however the numbers were clearly against them.
The majority of them attempted to run for their lives, yet the stadium gates
were lost and they couldn’t escape. They were trapped in a corner like a
defenseless, tiny mouse running from a hungry cat. Except in this case, this
cat had 12,999 buddies all armed with stones, knives, fireworks, and many more
weapons. It was violence between civilians, however the police could have very
well stopped it from escalating as much as they did. Instead, they chose to sit
back and bask in the bloodshed of a group that they believe wronged them. 73
people were charged after the incident including only 9 officers even though it
could be argued that all the police officers in the stadium could be charged
because of their negligence to do their job. Of the 73 people charged, 26 people
were acquitted including 7 of the officers. 2 of the officers got 5
year-sentences, but the rest of the force got off scot-free. It is astounding
to think almost none of the police offers received any punishment for their
lack of actions in controlling the riot. Despite the removal of president Hosni
Mubarak, the government is still encouraging bloodbaths.
| Port Said Stadium Riot |
Since
the government got its payback against the Ultras Ahlawy, they needed to go
after the other major ultra group next. Despite being more than 4 years since
the revolution, the officers have not let go of the Arab Spring coup. On February
8, 2015, the Ultras White Knights were now in the government’s sights. One day
during a game, soldiers outside the stadium shot multitudes of tear gas
canisters into a narrow area surrounded on two sides by barbed wire inciting a
stampede. Egyptian authorities do not want to claim any responsibility for the
incident because they were doing it for security purposes. They declared it as
a stampede of ticketless fans endeavoring to get into the stadium for free.
Although everything appeared to be in control, until the soldiers fired the
tear gas of course causing the stampede of fans running away for their dear
life. In addition, since the fans were all cramped into a narrow space
surrounded by each other and barbed wire, there were only two plausible escape
routes for them, which were blocked by each other. Consequently, 22 fans were
killed trampling each other and tens to hundreds more could have been injured.
It was a grotesque punishment for the soldiers to dish out to the ultras, but
Egypt is essentially a military state so there will be no retribution for these
vile actions.
Egyptian
football has had a profound effect on the daily lives of Egyptians everywhere.
It ranges from watching and participating in it everyday like regular sports
do, but to also igniting a political revolution. Without the ultras, there’s no
telling whether corrupt and ruthless president Hosni Mubarak would still be in
his tenure. However, in a different perspective, football has also caused a
multitude of deaths between 2011 and 2016. It all starts with the revolution in
2011 when ultras, police officers, and regular civilians alike died fighting
for their own causes. Then in 2012, police sought their revenge against the
ultras and allowed the fans of the opposing teams to rip them to shreds causing
at least 70 deaths and 500 injuries. Finally, in 2015, police once again shot
ultras like dogs in the middle of the street killing at least 20 people. Its
unheard of for a sport to affect a nation as much as football has affected
Egypt. Egypt’s passion for football has resulted in a roller coaster ride of
massive ups yet equally as massive downs. In Egypt, football is part of life,
death, and political turmoil and has affected facets of daily and long-term
life.
|
Al Ahly Wins African Super Cup in 2014
|
Rahul Srigiriraju
Works Cited
"Egypt's Enduring Passion for Soccer - The New York
Times." N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.
@almonitor. "Egypt's Ultras: Revolutionaries to
villains?" Al-Monitor. N.p., 2013. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.
"Emboldened Fans Rewrite the Politics of Egyptian
Football." Your Middle East. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.
Janardhan, Arun. "Football is religion's only rival in the
Middle East: James Dorsey." Http://www.livemint.com/. N.p., 2016.
Web. 19 Dec. 2016.
Kingsley, Patrick. "Death of Zamalek fans in riot stirs
political conspiracies in Egypt." The Guardian. Guardian News and
Media, 2015. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.
@TheNationalUAE. "Only a game? Not in Egypt | The
National." The National. N.p., 2014. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.
"Port Said Stadium riot." Wikipedia. Wikimedia
Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.
"The Egyptian Ultras as Revolutionary Players." The
Egyptian Ultras as Revolutionary Players | Caabu. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec.
2016.
