Soccer in the Middle East- an Introduction

Alon Raab
akraab@ucdavis.edu

With the final whistle, as Iran ensured its place in the 1998

Mundial, millions streamed into the streets, honking car horns, waving flags, and singing.

Among the multitude were many women. Barred after the Islamic revolution from

stadiums and public life, on this night they removed their veils and celebrated. Some

climbed atop cars of the hated morality police, dancing and laughing. Others joined male

compatriots hailing the national team’s achievement and using the occasion to denounce

the regime, calling “Death to the Mullahs.”1

Iraqi student Emad Nimah first saw Tottenham Hotspur FC in 1961 and was

entranced. He maintained his love even during 3,080 days as a prisoner of war in an

Iranian jail. “My grief was made worse due to total ignorance of how Tottenham were

getting on,” he later wrote. Owning a radio would result in sixty lashes but after seven

years of captivity he was able to bribe a guard to smuggle a tiny radio in a packet of salt.

Listening to the BBC, Nimah heard occasional mention of his beloved team. After his

release and return to Baghdad listening to foreign broadcasts could result in a six-month

prison term and a high fine but these did not stop him. The American occupation meant

being able to watch games via satellite, but sometimes the action on the pitch was

interrupted by bombings outside his home.2

 In his late eighties, Nagib Mahfouz, Egyptian winner of the Nobel Prize in

Literature, recalled happy childhood days playing soccer in the streets of Cairo’s

Abbassiya neighbourhood and the many Zamalek-Al Ahly derbies he attended. A life

long lover of the game, he regularly met friends at Qushtumur, his favourite café, to

discuss literature, politics, and soccer. He rejoiced when Egypt won its fifth Africa Cup

of Nations championship, though he lamented- “Now we play to forget our sorrows.”3

Osama Bin Laden, despite rejecting Western practices and values, loved London’s

Arsenal club, buying the team’s kits for his sons during a 1994 visit to Highbury

Stadium. In nighttime dreams a game of soccer often took place, his holy warriors

soundly defeating a team comprised of Americans and Israelis, on the pitch, and beyond.4

These are but some of the lives and events exemplifying soccer’s special place

and importance in the Middle East. This issue of Soccer and Society is a collection of

scholarly studies, essays, and literature from a variety of cultures on the Beautiful Game

in the region. Since its introduction in the latter part of the 19 th century, soccer has been

an important part of the region’s history. Its birth and its continued life and development

into the 21st century have intersected with important cultural and historical processes such

as colonialism, the rise of nationalism, women’s liberation, urbanism, industrialization,

state building, globalization, and political revolt. The game has been influenced by these

developments and has helped shape them as well. While there is a tendency by the media

and by fans to focus on professional teams and on star players who embody their values

and dreams, it is important to pay heed also to the broader sweep of soccer’s influence.

As elsewhere, soccer has been an important agent of social integration, and a major arena
in which ethnic and religious identities- local, national and regional- and conceptions and

practices of gender and class are played out. Leaders and regimes have cynically used the

game to further their aims, and matches have also been a locale where conflicts were

manifested and violence has erupted. At the same time, soccer has served as a place

where fraternity and co-operation are common, as a source of pride and joy, and as a

vehicle for independence and dignity. The game has exhibited similarities with the way it

has developed and become part of the social fabric in other lands, but it has also achieved

its own character and flavour, a result of the region’s unique history and multiplicity of

religions, cultures, and peoples. Recognizing the influence of soccer on individual and

collective lives and nations, the materials in this collection address different historical

periods and cultures and represent both the men and women’s games. The literature on

Middle Eastern soccer is rewarding in its own right but is also a gateway for learning

about the societies where it has developed, and where it is passionately played and loved.

Where is the Middle East?

Geographical names are important, revealing, like archaeological layers, the

complex history of a place and the lives of those who dwell within its actual or imaginary

territories. Often, these are contested histories and claims or lands such as The Garden of

Eden whose location has been lost. Considering how often the designation “The Middle

East” is uttered, it is surprising that there is much argument about its boundaries as well

as confusion with the terms “Near East,” and “the Arab World.” Furthermore, The term

“Middle East” has aroused criticism and charges of being a reflection of a Eurocentric

view that regards every region solely in relation to the European centres of power.
 The first recorded use of the term dates from 1850. Coined by the British India

Office, it was only at the beginning of the 20 th century that it came into popular use. Still,

as late as World War Two, the western allies differed in their usage - the American army

indicated all lands from Turkey to Burma, while the British Middle Eastern Command

covered the area from Egypt to the Persian Gulf. This inability to agree on boundaries

continues today among geographers, historians, politicians, and the general public, both

in the region and in the West. The variations extend over thousands of kilometres and

millions of inhabitants, as seen by the various scholarly associations who might include

anywhere between fifteen to thirty eight countries. The recent “War on Terror” has added

to the confusion as it expanded the conception, at least in the west, of what constitutes the

region. Thus the Middle East Institute of Washington D.C. devotes a section to Pakistan,

while the American Middle East Studies Association includes panels on Central Asian

countries such as Kazakhstan.5

In this anthology we include the countries that are part of the “traditional” Middle

East, comprising seventeen countries, from Yemen in the south to Turkey in the north

and from Iran in the east to Egypt in the west. This choice sometimes arouses protests

(which we encountered when soliciting materials) from people who feel that it is too

narrow and should range from Afghanistan to Morocco. There is however recognition by

many inhabitants of these lands that they are part of a distinct political and cultural entity,

one known in Arabic as Al-sharq Al-Awasat (‫ )الشرق األوسط‬comprised of the Maghreb

(the west) and the Mashriq (lands in the east.) It is also a reflection of the way that many

in the region perceive a common past and destiny.

 This unity does not obscure the many divisions between and within nations,

religions, and ethnicities, the many animosities and conflicts, or imply that all share the

perceived commonality. For a long time many living outside the Middle East have

regarded it as a dangerous monolithic unit, confusing between Muslims and Arabs,

ignoring the fact that Christians (of many denominations) also live in the region, or

assuming that Iranians are Arab and speak Arabic. While acknowledging the unique

traditions and histories of the many groups comprising the region our definition accepts

certain cultural, political, and religious communalities, and reflects the similar paths that

soccer has carved in many of these lands. The way the game was introduced and grew in

Saudi Arabia differs from the way it appeared in neighbouring Yemen, and the present

day character of Iranian soccer is different from that practiced in Cyprus, but in the lives

of the game in the Middle East similar constraints, forces, and aspirations exist.

Shared histories

Since antiquity, sport played an important role within the social and

cultural life of the Middle East with activities such as wrestling and horseback-riding

enjoying popularity. In Mesopotamia and Egypt ball games were depicted on scrolls and

murals, and remains of balls made of linen or animal intestines have been found in tombs.

These games, like early ball games in Mesoamerica, Japan and China, were connected to

religious celebrations, most likely marking fertility rites and nature’s abundance. Ball

kicking games popular in ancient Rome and played in arenas and in the streets were

carried by the triumphant Legions of the empire to their new conquered Middle Eastern

lands and adapted by local elites who wished to emulate their masters.6
 The game in its modern form made its appearance in the Middle East at the same

time that the modern history of the region begins. Most historians consider as the birth of

the new era the end of the 19th Century through the early 20th Century when major

changes, most notably the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of

nationalist movements, ensued. (Some historians go back several more decades to

Napoleon’s invasion and conquest of Egypt.)

While many areas in the world have known conflict and strife, the Middle East’s

location, as a bridge between the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe, has guaranteed

that since ancient times a continual array of armies and nations, from the Hittites to the

French, Mongols to the people of the Arabian peninsula, would be moving through it,

searching for navigation routes, salt, spices, land, cheap labour, and oil. Military

invasions, occupations, Protectorates, and extraction of resources, have been a familiar

feature. At the same time there has been a steady infusion of trade and commerce,

educational institutions, religious practices, as well as new ideas and facets of life and

culture. These foreign interventions, (militarily, economically, and culturally,) as well as

conquest by local groups and tribes, have continued even after the colonial yoke was

broken and many nations attained political independence. These, along with rule by

1
Shahidian, Women in Iran.
2
Nimah, Tottenham ‘til I Die.; Oufkir, Twenty Years in a Desert Jail.: Palden, The
Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk.
3
Al-Ghitani, The Mahfouz Dialogs.
4
Robinson, Bin Laden: Behind the Mask of a Terrorist.
5
Davison, ‘Where is the Middle East.’
6
Crowther, Sport in Ancient Times.; Kanawati, Beni Hassan: Art and Daily Life in an

Egyptian Province.
authoritarian leaders and dictators, movements for national and social liberation, the

influence of religion, and globalization, are some of the important features that have

created and shaped the modern Middle East, and continue to influence its destiny,

including in the realm of sport.7

While every locale is unique, and within its boundaries multiplicities of

experience exist, a brief examination of the game’s history in one country, Egypt, will

illuminate the way that some of the larger political and social forces have held their sway

over soccer.

British sailors, merchants, teachers, and engineers introduced soccer to Egypt, the

region’s most populous nation, at the end of the 19 th century. After Britain conquered the

land in 1882 (to guarantee control of the Suez Canal) British officials and military

personal helped the game spread. Soon there are accounts of soldiers playing soccer in

front of curious Egyptians. (First film clips of such matches were taken during the First

World War.) While The British (and other colonizing powers) had economic and military

interests, the empire was also a universe of educational institutions, cultural practices,

and values, all of which were disseminated and then adapted by the local elites.8

Unlike in the North African countries under French control where the game was

restricted to Europeans, in Egypt the educated elites were allowed to play. In newly

established schools, such as the Victoria Colleges in Cairo and Alexandria, sports were

used, as in Victorian England, to teach moral lessons and strengthen a sense of unity

7
Hourani, The Modern Middle East: a Reader; Lewis, The Shaping of the Modern
Middle East ; Rogan, The Arabs: A History.
8
On colonialism and resistance through sport see for example Fair, ‘Kickin' It’.; Alegi,
‘Playing to the Gallery?’
among the ethnically and religiously diverse student body. Sports were an essential way

of introducing western civilization to the natives, and teach discipline and respect for

authority, values useful in ruling the vast empire.9

After the First World War soccer became an area where resistance to British rule

was manifested. Starting in 1920, a soccer team representing Egypt participated in the

Olympics, and its performance, particularly in the 1928 games where it reached the semi-

finals, was viewed by many Egyptians as proof that they are as good as their rulers, with

the understanding that equality on the pitch ought to be carried into all areas.10

While at first soccer was played mostly by the members of the educated classes

(such as Hassan Hegazi, the first Egyptian to play in England, for Fulham FC, in 1911,

and who went on to study at Cambridge), the game was adapted rapidly by the masses

with many of the players coming from the ranks of the urban poor. In many of the clubs

they joined they encountered nationalist and socialist ideas as well as the ideology of the

Muslim Brotherhood. The connections to political ideologies were expressed most

strongly in the struggle, on and off the pitch, between the two main Cairo teams: Al-Ahly

and Zamalek. Al-Ahly, whose name translates as ‘The National,’ was formed in 1907 and

the second, in 1911. Zamalek was initially named Kasr El-Nile Club and in 1940

renamed Farouk, after the (puppet) King Farouk who supported the team generously, but

after the 1952 revolution it was renamed Al Zamalek for the area where it is based. Al

Ahly was from its inception supported by the nationalist and liberal elements and was

seen as standing for national independence while Zamalek was supported by royalists and

9
El-Sayed, ‘Ruled by the Game.’
10
Lopez, ‘Football as National Allegory.’
conservative elements, in cahoots with the British. Other teams, such as Port Said’s Al-

Masry team, also represented political aspirations. Founded a year after the Egyptian

Revolution of 1919, the team, unlike other teams of this Suez Canal’s city, included only

Egyptian players, and was a symbol of national identity and independence.11

Other important historical events impacting the game across the region include

the arbitrary drawing of national boundaries by colonial powers. Thus the 1920 French-

British Sykes-Pico agreement that created the new states of Syria and Lebanon and

defined the boundaries of Turkey, Iran, and Iraq, left the Kurdish people without a

homeland, resulting in a protracted struggle for independence. This has meant that the

game in Kurdistan has been played against a background of war and conflict, limiting its

growth. The dispersion of a large number of Kurds and the absence of an independent

state has resulted also in the creation of Diaspora teams, often representing the towns

from which their members came. In the states of Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, the pitch has

become an important arena where Kurds expressed suppressed nationalistic sentiments.

Another common feature of the game has been its use by leaders and regimes to

advance particular policies, gain legitimacy, increase public support, or pacify the restless

masses. (These are seen elsewhere as well, with the Argentinean Junta hosting the 1976

World Cup during the height of its reign of terror but one example.) In the Middle East

all kinds of regimes-monarchies, state socialism, dictatorships, and democracies- at times

of calm as well as during unrest, have made political use of soccer. Leaders have noticed

that success by a local team or a national team in the international area or the hosting of
11
On the history of Egyptian soccer see El-Zatmah, ‘Aha Goal: A Social and Cultural
History of Soccer in Egypt’; Goldblatt, The Ball is Round, 484-486, 494-496, 666-669;
On the Cairo derby see Goldblatt, ‘The Secret Policeman’s Football.’
an important tournament often raise citizen support and confer authority on the regime.

The way Ataturk has harnessed the game in 1920’s Turkey as part of his secular

nationalist agenda and as part of a turn to the West; The Saudi royal family’s control of

the national soccer federation and various princes controlling teams, with game results

sometimes reflecting the shifting hierarchical power relations in the Kingdom; and the

attempt by the United States occupying forces in Iraq to win hearts and minds by

repairing soccer fields (even before restoring electricity and water) are but three

examples, across decades and locales, of these political uses of the game. Employing

“Soccer diplomacy,” the game has also served as a bridge between hostile sides, as

shown by games between the two rival Yemen in the 1980’s and between Turkey and

Armenia in 2009.

Among the influences unique to the region that have and continue to impact the

development and character of the game Islam is prominent. As with other religions,

attitudes towards the game have varied. Many religious leaders and believers have

viewed soccer, since first encountering it, as a dangerous western import that encourages

political reforms, destruction of family life, and abandonment of the faith. This attitude

has resulted in fatwas condemning the game and its practitioners and supporters. Some

Islamic groups have threatened to kill followers of the game and (in Somalia) have

bombed public TV-viewing gatherings during the Mundial. The passion for the game is

often viewed as competition with religious agendas as expressed in the opinion of

Muslim Brotherhood leader Hassan Khater that if Egyptians cared as much about the fate

of the Al Aqsa mosque as they did about the results of the Egypt-Algeria game, Israel

would not rule the holy shrine. Unable to compete against its popularity and fearful that
fans will abandon their prayer duties during the 2010 World Cup Saudi authorities

brought mobile mosques on trucks (including prayer mats) to cafes where men were

fervently following games, hoping that they will at least pray during half-time. Many

believers and some religious leaders, including Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, are however passionate fans and see no contradiction

between the game and Islamic faith and practices. They have embraced the game, even

using it, via Islamic leagues, to spread the faith and help adherents in their spiritual and

moral development.12

The Arab Spring

In December 2010 the Middle East erupted. The violence by regimes refusing to

relinquish power, the resistance by millions of citizens, and the struggles for political

freedom, economic opportunity, and gender equality, have taken the region by storm.

They have also played out in the sporting arenas. Fans and athletes were in the forefront

of the revolts. Their involvement was unsurprising since for many years the football

stadium along with the mosque were the only public places where political opposition-

frustration over daily life and anger at the ruling regimes- were expressed. They turned

the pitch into an arena where competing ideologies were voiced and demands for

accountability made. The stadium became also the training ground for militant fans to

hone their organizational and street battle skills, later used successfully when joining, and

often leading, confrontations with the rulers. This battle for a more just and equal society

continues.
12
Shavit, ‘Sport in Contemporary Islamic Law.’
 After gaining independence from foreign rule, national sports administrations,

like other aspects of society, were rife with corruption and nepotism. Political leaders

often took credit for team or national success, while using football to distract attention

from their regimes’ failures and the growing discontent. During times of war stadiums

served for detention, torture, and murder, as in Hama, Syria, 1982, by the Assad regime,

and in Beirut, by the Christian Phalangists the same year.

Starting in the late 1980’s groups of Egyptian fans organized nation-wide,

including Cairo’s Ultras Ahlawi (passionate followers of the Ahli Club,) and Ultras

White Knights, (of the Zamalik Club). At first they focused on traditional displays of

fandom, but gradually became politicised, and resembled- in street marches, chants,

uniforms, and fights with other groups and the police- the militant nationalist youth

groups active between the two world wars. Before the 2011 revolt their ideology was

based on an anti-police, anti-media, anti-corporate, anti-state, and anti-football

establishment stance, represented in extensive literature, art, graffiti, and stadium

conduct. Though many members were of the anti-authoritarian left, they were

disenchanted with the possibilities of political change. Their rise coincided with the

emergence of other youth activist groups, such as Sitah April, (“the Sixth of April”) and

the Kulina Khalid Said, (“All of Us Are Khalid Said”) organizing against the regime.

While these groups were mostly comprised of middle and upper class individuals, the

ultras were working and lower-middle class youth acutely affected by the economic

disaster. Many were arrested for fighting the hated security forces but were quickly

released as the regime regarded their behaviour as part of general football hooliganism

and as a safety valve for pent-up tensions.

 On January 25, 2011, the ultras joined the mass demonstrations and went on to

play a critical role in toppling Mubarak. They were especially effective during battles on

the Qasr al-Nile bridge that led to the takeover of Tahrir Square by the demonstrators,

and ‘The Camel Battle’, when armed supporters of the regime, riding on camels and

horses, attacked the demonstrators. The ultras’ long history of street battles and

experience working together were well employed as they held off their opponents.

Several members were killed and scores injured.

These confrontations and the courage evidenced exposed the regime’s brutality

but also its weakness and suggested that victory was attainable. The ultras also played a

leading role in neighbourhood watch committees organized to prevent looting and defend

the areas, and in setting up and running such necessary services as medical care, food

distribution, and garbage collection. After Mubarak’s fall ultras have remained a

passionate revolutionary force, still committed to the original slogan of the revolution;

‘Iish, Huriya, ‘Adala ’jtima‘iya, (‘Bread, Freedom, and Social Justice”). Maintaining

political independence they have worked with the secularist-socialist coalitions and have

protested against the Muslim Brotherhood regime and the Higher Council of the Armed

Forces. On February 2nd 2012 seventy-four fans, mostly al-Ahly ultras, were killed

during a game in Port Said against the local al-Masri team. Security forces stood by,

leading the public to believe that the massacre was orchestrated by them. Fans have been

in the forefront of calls for trials for the culprits as well as for other security personal

responsible for killings during the uprising. In January 2013 twenty-one al-Masri fans

were sentenced to death, promoting widespread rioting in Port Said and the ensuing death

of dozens.
 Hundreds of Middle Eastern athletes joined the revolts. Among them were the

fastest Arab sprinter, Egyptian Amr Seoud, Baharani footballers Aal’a and Mohammed

Hubail, and Syrian national team goalkeepers Abdelbaset Sarout, and Mosab Balhous.

Many of the athletes were arrested and tortured, and some killed.

Orientalism and soccer

The aforementioned debates on geographical boundaries connect to the complex

historical relations between the region and the West and to issues of representation, and

these issues have bearing on soccer too.

Palestinian cultural scholar and political activist Edward Said has shown, in his

1977 book Orientalism and in subsequent writings, the way Europeans (and especially

the colonizing French and British) have related to the area and how ideological biases

have shaped their vision. The East has been, according to Said, the place of

“Europe's greatest and richest and oldest colonies, the source of its civilizations

and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring

images of the Other. In addition, the Orient has helped to define Europe (or the

West) as its contrasting image, idea, personality, and experience. Yet none of this

Orient is merely imaginative. The Orient is an integral part of European material

civilization and culture. Orientalism expresses and represents that part culturally

and even ideologically as a mode of discourse with supporting institutions,

vocabulary, scholarship, imagery, doctrines, even colonial bureaucracies and

 colonial styles.”13

Said’s analysis is substantiated by other scholars such as Jonathan Lyons who in

his Islam Through Western Eyes: From the Crusades to the War on Terror posits that for

nearly a thousand years there has been an anti-Islamic rhetoric based on the idea that

Islam is inherently violent and anti-women, and that its believers have always been

irrational, and opposed to science, democracy, and modernity. Similarly, Jack Shaheen in

his books Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People and Guilty: Hollywood's

Verdict on Arabs After 9/11 examines the stereotypical portrayals of Arabs and Muslims

in thousands of American and European films since the birth of cinema, concluding that

at least 95% perpetuate misinformation, stereotypes, and clichés, while only five percent

depict normal human characters.14

If these distorted images of Muslims and Arabs in scholarship, literature, the arts,

the media, and other political and cultural representations, are indeed as prevalent and

negative as these and other scholars suggest, what are the implications for western

understanding about sports in the region and for its study? If mainstream media is

embedded with these biases, do these extend to its coverage of Middle Eastern sport, and

soccer in particular?

There have been several studies examining how local and western media have

reported sporting events in the region. These include portrayals of Palestinian athletes in

the Israeli media and a study of U.S. print media coverage of the 1998 World Cup Iran-

USA match. The latter analysis concluded that the game was mostly presented in the
13
Said, Orienetalism, 1. For a critique of Orientalism see Porter, ‘Orientalism and its
Problems.’; Kennedy, Edward Said.
14
Lyons, Islam Through Western Eyes; Shaheen, Reel Bad Arabs; Shaheen, Guilty.
familiar ideological frames based on the two nations’ long and often antagonistic history,

but that layers related to national identity, fans, and sport were also present in some of the

reporting.15

The focus on the political dimension when western sport venues- whether Fox

News or the New York Times- report on the Middle East has been noted by scholars

finding that the sport stories that received the most attention have been those involving

dramatic and negative phenomena: disputes over female Muslims athletes’ attire (and

specifically the Hijab); the violent clashes following the Algerian-Egyptian pre-Mundial

games in 2010; and Qatari officials buying votes to gain the right to host the Mundial.

Occasionally, a more positive story receives attention, such as the success of the Iraqi

soccer team in the 2004 Olympics and its role as a unifying force of a divided nation.

This story was a hopeful development, used by American politicians and the media to

show Iraq’s return to “normalcy”. Not surprisingly, the statements by Iraqi players

denouncing the occupation and objecting to being used for political ends received almost

no mention.16

It is possible to argue that the western media does not single out the Middle East

but rather that it tends to focus on the negative and dramatic, and that contexts and

complexities are absent across the board. Employing only the lens of (contentious and

violent) religion and politics and ignoring the mostly peaceful sporting activities and

other aspects of daily life, carries however a real-life price. It helps to convey the idea

that the region and its people are one-dimensional and inaccessible, different from “us.”

15
Shor, 'Play and Shut Up'; Delgado,‘The Fusing of Sport and Politics.’
16
Lopez, ‘Sport and Society in the Middle East’.
Americans, Europeans, and Middle Easterners learning about each others’ sports and

realizing that these are a shared practice can help change this limited perspective and

increase feelings of commonality, thus affecting even national political agendas. In-depth

and long ranging content analysis of how western and Middle Eastern media (corporate

as well as independent) present stories about soccer in the region are necessary however

before conclusions can be drawn about biases and agendas.

The research thus far

The number of articles, scholarly studies, and artistic representations about the

Middle East, both by those living in it and those looking from the outside, is large. These

include sloppy and inaccurate observations by “experts” who do not even speak the

regions’ languages but also many informed and insightful analyses.

Considering the long and rich history of soccer in the region and its importance to

individual lives as well as societies it is surprising that until recently historians and sport

scholars have ignored these. Popular works such as those by historians Bernard Lewis

and Albert Hourani have left out soccer entirely. Even Eugene Rogan, who in his well-

researched The Arabs: A History includes not only official reports and sources but also

many accounts of daily life narrated by “ordinary” people, does not mention the region’s

most popular sport.17

Similarly, soccer historians have ignored the Middle East in their global histories,

giving the impression that the region does not exist. Stephen Wagg included a chapter on

the region in his 1984 study of global football and the excellent film series The Beautiful

Game devoted a section of its Global Soccer Cultures episode to Iran, but as with many
17
See note 7.
other aspects of the game, it was left to David Goldblatt in his magisterial and

comprehensive The Ball Is Round to devote several pages to the way the game was

introduced, the larger political forces in play, and note important events and players.18

For many years the field of sport research, in the west and also in the

home countries, was small, and Turkish scholar Cuneyd Okay’s 2002 observation applied

to other lands too- “The history of sports is generally a neglected field in Turkish

historiography. Consequently, the history of football has been examined in a superficial

and populist way, and has not been the subject of any comprehensive academic study in

the real sense…No detailed study has been undertaken to reveal how this sport was

introduced into the country, how it became popular, and the stages of its early

development.”19 This task was then taken up by Okay who in his study explained how

football entered Turkey during the period of modernization (1890-1914) and examined

early publications on soccer, including press coverage, the journal Futbol and books by

Selim Sirri Tarcan and by the Istanbul Futbol Birligi (Istanbul Soccer Association.)

Okay’s work was followed by other historical studies including Ceviker Turgut’s

anthology Turk Edebiyatinda Futbol (Football in Turkish Literature) that included the

writings of major Turkish journalists, poets, and novelists, starting in 1913.20

Gradually, a number of excellent works- academic studies, essays, fiction,

and films (both narrative and documentary)- about the game in the Middle East have

appeared. Due to limitations of space we will focus mostly on those from the region and

those appearing in the UK and the USA, though there have been important studies

18
History of Soccer: The Beautiful Game; Goldblatt, The Ball is Round.; Wagg, The
Football World: A Contemporary Social History.
19
Okay, ‘The Introduction, Early Development and Historiography,’ 1.
20
Turgut, Turk Edebiyatinda Futbol.
elsewhere, and especially France. Academic journals devoted to sports such as The

International Review for the History of Sport, Sport in Society, Soccer and Society, and

The International Review for the Sociology of Sport, as well as general sociological

journals, began paying attention. Several studies including Houchang Chehabi’s writings

on the politics of the soccer in Iran, and Abdul Karim Alaug and Thomas B. Stevenson’s

research on the origins of Yemini soccer and the important role it played in ending

hostilities between the warring states of Yemen were important contributions.21

While such studies employed well archival research, interviews, and analysis,

they were few and far between. A high percentage cantered on one of the smallest and

least populous lands- Israel/Palestine, with notable work by the likes of Yair Galily,

Tamir Sorek, Amir Ben Porat, and Hagai Harif. Many of the Israeli sport historians and

sociologists were members of the Israeli political left, and in their work, whether about

the Arab teams of Hapoel Tayibe FC and Bnei Sakhnin FC or about the transformation of

Israeli soccer from “a game to a commodity” (the title of one study) they have attempted,

in subject and approach, to move beyond narrow nationalistic ideologies. 22 Writings by

Palestinian scholars were few. This was due to many factors, chief among them the many

wars (and especially those of 1948 and 1967), which along with major displacement and

expulsions of Palestinians have also included the intentional and accidental destruction of

archives and valuable primary materials. Of late, Palestinian scholars such as Issam

Khalidi have started to spotlight Palestinian soccer during the Mandate period, in the

Jewish state, and in the Palestinian Diaspora. This work has shed light on a vital soccer

21
Chelahabi, ‘The Politics of Football in Iran.’; Alaug and Stevenson, ‘Football in Newly
United Yemen.’
culture and its connection to its people’s history. 23 The challenge of writing football

histories in a politically contested land is ongoing, and the important work of bringing to

light lost histories will continue and enrich our understanding of Israeli and Palestinian

societies.

In the middle of the first decade of the new millennium several journalistic works

have appeared including James Montague’s When Friday Comes: Football in the War

Zone, a lively travelogue recording his visits among the football faithful, and Simon

Freeman’s Baghdad FC, which described Iraqi soccer’s bloody history under repressive

regimes, and the courage and faith exhibited by players and fans. These works contained

useful information but did not aim to provide deeper analysis.24

While scholarly works were few, for many years indigenous literary works and

films have been paying attention to the game. Many were light comedies (including Togo

Mizrahi’s 1937 Egyptian film Shalom al-riyadi (Shalom the Athlete) about a Jewish

soccer manager) while others offered insightful information about their societies, through

the lens of soccer. Some noteworthy films include Mohamed Diab’s 678 which centres

on sexual violence against Egyptian women, with one of the main characters, a wealthy

secular woman, assaulted at a match; Wahid sifr (One-Zero), Ilham Shahin’s portrait of a

group of fans whose joy over Egypt’s victory can not obscure the many problems facing

their society and the lack of options in their own lives; and Ugur Yucel’s Yazi Tura, the

story of three demobilized Turkish soldiers and their difficult adjustment to civilian life,

22
Ben Porat and Galily, Sport, Politics, and Society in the Land of Israel.
23
Khaidi, ‘The Zionist Movement and Sports in Palestine.’; Khalid, ‘History of Palestine
Sports’.; Shihade, Not Just a Soccer Game.
24
Montague, When Friday Comes.; Freeman, Baghdad FC.
with one character, nicknamed “Cevher the Ghost,” a once promising player who lost a

leg in the battle against the insurgent Kurds.25

In the last few years the game (and sport in general) has been accorded more

respect by scholars and by institutions, as evidenced by a 2009 Arab Women Sport

Journalists' Forum held in Qatar and the panel on sport held during the 2010 World

Congress of Middle Eastern Studies. Among the important new publications are two by

Egyptian journalists. The first, Yasser Thabit’s Ḥurub kurat al-qadam (Soccer Wars) is a

study of Egyptian soccer history from its origins to the recent conflict between Algeria

and Egypt on and off the field. The author also critiques the role played by the two

countries’ media in fuelling hostilities, and, in a chapter titled “Religion for God, the

Field for all,” the fundamentalists who want to ban the “Devil’s game.” 26 Al-Altiras (The

Ultras) by Mohamed G. Beshir is based on his time, as an observer and participant, with

a group of Cairo ultras. Appearing just as these passionate Egyptian fans assumed an

important part in the uprising that toppled the Mubarak regime, its lively descriptions and

theoretical framework brought the book a wide audience. 27 Beshir, (writing also as

Gemyhood) is one of a growing number of Middle Eastern football fans that have created

blogs about the game and about politics in their countries. The best sites excel in their

immediacy and fervour, written as events unfold and often by participants. Their format

guarantees a large and responsive audience but also the attention of the authorities. One

blogger, well known Iranian actress and dissident Pegah Ahangarani, was arrested when

boarding a plane to Germany to cover the women’s 2011 World Cup. She was

imprisoned for two weeks. (Sport photojournalist and women’s rights activist Maryam
25
Shalom al-riyadi. ; 678.; Wahid-sfir; Yazı Tura.
26
Thabit, Horoob Kurat al-Qadam.
27
Beshir, Al-Altiras.
Majd suffered a similar fate.) Among the new well-written and conceived sport websites

are James Dorsey’s The Turbulent World of Middle Eastern Soccer and Sertaç

Sehlikoglu’s Muslim Women in Sports. Both have quickly become a reference point for

those seeking the latest information as well as looking at the broader picture.28

Though not exclusively about soccer, two new books containing essential

research and suggesting possibilities for future research are a welcome addition to the

field. The first, Algerian Mahfoud Amara’s Sport, Politics and Society in the Arab

World, connects sport with the formation of national identity, nation-state building,

international relations, the commercialization of sport, and the growth of sport media.

Amara also examines how soccer has been for many years the site of unrest and

resistance, and a place where people can still win symbolic victories over their difficult

socio-economic and political realities.29 The second work, Muslim Women and Sport,

edited by Tansin Benn, Haifaa Jawad, and Gertrud Pfister, adds to our understanding of a

much-neglected subject.30

The small but growing number of publications in the west reflects the rising

interest in the Middle East due mostly to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, regional

conflicts, and the role the game and its fans have played during the recent revolts. It also

reflects a genuine desire to understand an ancient and historically rich region, one that is

flowering artistically and culturally. With the growth in soccer studies globally, and the

28
Beshir, ‘Gemyhood 's Blog’ ; Dorsey, ‘The Turbulent World of Middle Eastern Soccer’
website.; Sehlikoglu, Muslim Women in Sports website.

29
Amara, Sport, Politics and Society in the Arab World.
30
Benn, Muslim Women and Sport.
realization that for too long the Middle East and its football cultures have been a

forgotten area, it is likely that more publications on the game will appear and add to our

understanding of the game and of the area’s societies.

Contributions in this volume

While a book that contains- like in Borges’ story On Exactitude in Science, a

fabled map of the world duplicating precisely all the lands and seas it depicts-

representations of every ethnic group and culture in the region and every aspect of the

game would be ideal, such a book would be gigantic, assuming of course that the

appropriate research has been done. Our book is more modest in size and scope, limited

by the actual research available and by what has been sent our way. The absence of

materials on several established soccer cultures and on emerging ones is not a reflection

of any political agenda but a result of these external constraints.

Our book is divided into two units- scholarly studies and literary treatments. The

first contains several sections- The International Arena; The National Game- looking at

Turkey; Women; Media Representations; and The Arab Spring. The second part presents

some of the rich literary works created by regional novelists. The book’s varied

approaches include blogs, journalistic accounts, anthropological fieldwork, theoretical

speculations, and fiction.

We open with two case studies of the game in the larger international arena and

the political role that soccer’s governing body, FIFA, has played. The first, Shaun Lopez’
“Race, Place, and Soccer” examines the narratives created by the bid-committees of

South Africa, Morocco, and Egypt, as they tried to secure the first African Mundial. Their

task included demonstrating logistical and technological capabilities but also “African”

connections. While South Africa’s credentials as being the most authentic representatives

of a shared African history shaped by oppression and modern development were

impeccable, Morocco and Egypt faced an uphill battle. Morocco’s Arab identity,

economic and cultural ties with Europe, and withdrawal from the Organization of African

Unity in the 1980’s showed a lack of allegiance to common struggles. Egypt had long

aspired to a leadership role in the Arab and African worlds, but had used European racist

rhetoric to justify 130 years of occupying and/or intervening in the African nation of

Sudan. Lopez examines the delicate dance that the Moroccan and Egyptian officials

swirled through. The process exposed the tensions and ambivalence felt by the two

nations about their place in the continent, and was among the reasons leading to their

failure to obtain the bid.

While the United Nations has 193 members FIFA has 208 as it has accepted also

national entities that are not yet states, including Palestine. In ”Playing for Identity and

Independence: The Issue of Palestinian Statehood and the Role of FIFA” Glen M.E.

Duerr examines FIFA’s role in Palestine’s ongoing move towards international

legitimacy and statehood. He looks at the way that Palestine’s participation in

international competitions has provided a sense of national pride and contributed to

recognition by dozens of states and to membership in international bodies. This sense of

Palestinian national worth and dignity via soccer is not new. In Jordan, the refugee camp

team Al Wihdat has represented for decades the Palestinian community and has created a
space for expressing anger at the Hashemite regime’s discriminatory polices as well as

strengthening a separate identity. (At the same time, the team has also helped in

integration into society.) The importance of the team to national life has been underlined

by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat who exclaimed-“one day when we had no voice, al-

Wihdat was our voice.”31

Duerr also looks at how soccer, via peaceful encounters between Palestinians and

Israeli Jewish players (in “mixed” teams, separate teams competing, and even a short

lived “peace team”) could help build bridges, and through decreasing mutual suspicion

add another step towards Palestinian statehood, and peace. The recent proposed plan to

host a joint Mundial in the state of Israel and in a (future) independent Palestinian state is

another manifestation of this legacy.

Next we move to an examination of the game in Turkey, a land where the game

has enjoyed a rich tradition and attracted many devoted fans. It was first played by British

merchants in Izmir, around 1890, and was quickly adapted by Greeks, Jews, Italians, and

French residents. The Ottoman authorities and religious leaders did not want the Turkish

population to adapt this western invention but students and members of the commercial

and cultural classes took to it and within several decades it spread widely.32

In this section three scholars and an essayist look at important aspects of the game

in Turkey. Jesús Ilundáin-Agurruza and Cem Kuleli in “A New Heart for Turkish Soccer:

a Virtue Ethics Diagnosis and Treatment” employ the writings of several philosophers of

31
Tuastad, ‘Al-Wihdat.’; See also Yaḥyá Yakhlif’s novel “The Sky Water,” about a
Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan, where the game serves as a source of identity and
pride. Yakhlif. Māʼ al-samāʼ : riwāyahʻ.
32
On Turkey- Goldbaltt, The Ball is Round, 168-170.
ethics and of sport to analyze the current state of Turkish soccer. At the beginning of the

previous decade Turkish soccer was widely regarded as a model for a successful soccer

nation, with its greatest success a third place finish in the 2002 World Cup. Since then the

game has experienced continual decline, exemplified by the level of play, lack of

international achievements, economic struggles, and widespread corruption, and all the

constituencies, (players, clubs, fans, coaches, owners, and institutions,) are responsible.

The authors note that the game is now goal oriented rather than process invested, and that

the actual goals are few and rarely beautiful. The authors propose an alternative that

emphasizes playing beautiful soccer for the right reasons.

While the game in Turkey (as in other lands) faces major challenges, it is

important to remember also the intensity and level of support that it has enjoyed for a

long time. The two following contributors describe this love and devotion. Turkish-

American writer Elif Batuman describes her visit to the charged atmosphere of the home

ground of Beşiktaş, one of Istanbul’s three powerhouses and the team identified with the

country’s working class. French political scientist Adrien Battini examines the ideology

and practices of UltraAslan, the supporters of Istanbul’s Galatasaray, a team historically

identified with the elites. Battini interviews leaders and followers of this highly

hierarchical and passionate group of fans, and joins them at the stadium, bars, the street,

and pilgrimages to national shrines. Incorporating theories of social integration and

participation, he suggests that the group’s success is a response to many of the current ills

afflicting Turkish society and that it could serve as a possible force towards greater social

cohesion.
 While women have fulfilled an important role in earlier revolts and national

liberation movements across the region, during the recent uprisings they have participated

in unprecedented numbers and levels. Defiance of societal expectations and restrictions

manifests their growing autonomy, and is connected to larger socio-economic changes

taking root for a long time, including that of women’s involvement in sport. A small but

growing body of academic and other work, such as the photo projects of Claudia Wiens

and Karijn Kakebeeke and a few film documentaries, examine Middle Eastern women

athletes.33 We include anthropological studies, based on fieldwork and in-depth

interviews, of women footballers in two politically volatile lands: The city of Sulaimani,

in Iraqi Kurdistan, and Sakhnin, a Palestinian town in the state of Israel. Geoff Harkness’

study is among the few devoted to Kurdistan’ sporting traditions, (of either genders)

while Kendra R. Stewart’s work is the first extensive study of female Palestinian soccer

players in the state of Israel. The status of women, and women athletes, in each of these

places is different, but their participation in a sport that is considered a male bastion, the

challenges they face and the way they navigate between individual and community

expectations and demands have many similarities. The two studies are the stories of

young women whose passion for the game endures and deepens.34

The section on women concludes with the Iranian manifesto For the Sake of My

Right and Not Football, a call by an anonymous author for women’s right to attend

matches and participate fully in public life.

33
Wiens, Schuhgröße 37: Frauenfußball in Ägypten, der Türkei, Palästina und Berlin.;
Kakebeeke, Karijn http://www.karijnkakebeeke.com/
34
See also Gieß-Stüber, ‘Palestinian Women's National Football Team Aims High’.;Al-
Wattar, ‘Women’s Narratives of Sport and War in Iraq’.
 Since its introduction to Israel/Palestine in the late 19th century, soccer has been

an arena where contested identities, loyalties, and struggles are manifested. From Jewish

and Palestinian orange-packers and oil-refinery workers playing together during the early

years of the British Mandate to contemporary Islamic Leagues, racist fans, and bombed

soccer fields, the game has reflected and shaped perceptions and realities of class,

nationalism, and gender. These have been represented in journalism, web sites, fiction,

poetry, and films about the game. Issam Khalidi examines the sport pages of Filistin, a

leading Palestinian paper published in Jaffa between 1911 and 1948, and shows how

soccer reporting was tied to the emerging national movement. Israeli scholar Chen

Kertcher analyses the way that major Israeli print and electronic sport media have

addressed, or ignored, the October 2000 events in which, as part of the Palestinian second

Intifada, riots broke out in the Palestinian population centres in the state of Israel.

Kerchner finds a variety of responses, based on the outlets’ political orientation and other

factors. This section concludes with Alon Raab’s essay on the Israeli-Palestinian

encounter as seen through soccer films and literature, utilizing some of the rich trove of

representations. Raab demonstrates how the varied political ideologies and interpretations

have influenced the artistic works about the game.

We end the first part of the book with an article about the Arab Spring. The soccer

arena was for many years one of the few public spaces available for venting anger and

frustration and a place where youth, mostly working class and lower middle class, could

organize. Shawki El-Zatmah explores the historical development of the passionate

Egyptian fans, the Ultras, and the role they played in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. In

Egypt and Tunisia soccer matches were a training ground for militant fans to hone their
organizational and street battle skills, later used successfully when joining, and often

leading, confrontations with the rulers. The many years of working together and helping

each other also came in handy in setting up neighbourhood defence committees and

providing medical services and food distribution.

The second part of the book includes literary works reflecting the place that the

game has held in the lives of many writers, artists, musicians, and filmmakers, who

growing up playing the game later often gave it artistic voice. In addition to Mahfouz,

some of these creators include Nobel Prize winner Orham Pamuk of Turkey; Turkish

poet and communist activist Nazim Hikmet, who during his long imprisonment wrote an

autobiography in which he evoked his childhood games of soccer; Palestinian national

poet Mahmud Darwish who in the summer of 1982, in the besieged city of Beirut, as

bombs rained, wrote in his journal about the Mundial; and many others.

We start with a selection from Mohamed El-Bisatie’s novel Drumbeat. Born in

1937, al-Bisatie worked for many years as a government accountancy inspector while

writing short stories and novels. In this work the national team of an “Emirate” qualifies

for the Mundial and the country’s monarch requires every citizen to go to France and

support the team. Those left are the many foreign workers who do all the work but lack

basic human rights and any say in the management of the country. Suddenly they are the

ones in control and El-Bisatie imagines what might happen when power relations are

turned upside down.

The next selection is from Mohamed Mansi Qandil’s Moon Over Samarqand.

The author, a medical doctor born in 1946, often writes about social unrest and state
repression. Ali, The novel’s narrator, is the son of a powerful member of the Egyptian

security forces. The boy is sent, against his wishes, to an elite military academy where he

encounters the hatred of other recruits, resentful over his class privileges and connection

to the regime. In the latter part of the novel these hatreds are played out on the pitch as

another cadet, a member of a banned Islamist group, roughs him up.

The third literary selection, taken from Khaled al-Berry’s autobiographical

account Life is More Beautiful Than Paradise: A Jihadist’s Own Story, also connects

politics and soccer, as the game, played with his comrades, serves to cement their

friendships and loyalty to the Islamic militant cause.

Next we include a chapter from The Golden Scales by Sudanese-British writer

Parker Bilal (the pen name of Jamal Mahjoub.) This is the story of Sudanese detective

Makana, who is trying to eke a living in Cairo while coming to terms with the murder of

his wife and child when they tried to escape their ravaged homeland. Makana is given the

task of finding Adil Romario, a missing soccer star. The search takes him through the

corrupt and violent worlds of big business, the security forces, and religious fanaticism.

The literary section ends with two writings about Israel/Palestine. The first is

from the diary of Morad Fareed, kept while playing on the Palestinian national team

during its campaign to reach the 2006 Mundial. The players faced obstacles not usually

associated with the game- players (or family members) detained or killed by the Israeli

authorities, travel restrictions, inability to gather all players at the same place, lack of a

home ground- but faced them with perseverance, humour, and courage. The team’s
journey has been noted in several films, such as Goal Dreams35 and Fareed’s contribution

is a unique perspective on what the team faced and overcame. It is also a record of one

man’s internal changes and awakened consciousness as Fareed, whose parents are from

the West Bank and who grew up on Long island, New York, “playing with Jewish Kids

and having many as friends,” sees up close what some of his teammates endure under

occupation and exile, and experiences the support, pride and love of the Palestinian fans.

The section and the book end with a selection from Israeli writer Itay Meirson’s

novel The Ninety Minute War, a satiric work which imagines the warring Israelis and

Palestinians agreeing to end their conflict once and for all via a soccer match, the results

of which will determine the fate of the two nations.

Directions for future research

The upcoming 2022 Mundial in Qatar, the continual involvement of soccer fans

and activists in the struggle for a better future, and the growing globalization of the game

will increase regional and world interest in Middle Eastern soccer. This growing attention

will likely result also in new and exciting works, and in the translation, from Arabic and

other languages of the region, of works that deserve an international audience.

As the field of Middle Eastern soccer scholarship is in its infancy, practically

every area of the game deserves to be explored. The various individual cultures; the game

as part of the fabric of societies; its importance to individual lives; as a source of both

35
Goal Dreams.
conflict and unity; in relation to religious beliefs; women overcoming patriarchal barriers;

as a gateway for independence, dignity, and liberation- these are just some of the areas.

Sophisticated historical studies that place the game in context are

especially needed, as well as works done from a comparative perspective. There is a

dearth of good research on many lands, and especially Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and the

Gulf States. A national study, of the kind conducted recently by Brenda Elsey on Chilean

soccer and society, could increase our understanding. 36 An examination of Lebanese

soccer will explore a country which If not among “the lands that FIFA forgot” then

definitely a nation whose soccer has not attained a high level of achievement, despite a

large and enthusiastic fan base, and whose soccer life is virtually unknown to the outside

world. The reasons for this situation are to be found in the country’s torturous modern

history. The civil war of 1975-1990 which left a quarter of a million dead and a million

injured (in a nation of four million), Israeli invasions, Syrian occupation, and long

simmering animosities born decades earlier have created a soccer universe where each

team has a distinct political identity. In many lands teams were born of political

organizations, parties, and unions or as representatives of ethnic entities, with a strong fan

base reflecting these origins. (Argentinos Juniors’ anarchist roots and Athletic Bilbao’s

Basque identity, among many examples.) Lebanese soccer has carried these divisions by

political alliances to an extreme. Al Ansar is the team of the wealthy Hariri family, whose

patriarch, former Prime Minister Rafik, was assassinated, while other teams represent the

Druze (Safa) the Maronites (Sagesse) the Hezbollah (Ahed) and there are more alliances.

The political rifts and violence have often spilled into the pitch but the recent modest

success of the united national team offers a glimmer of hope.

36
Elsey, Citizens and Sportsmen.
 Examining national styles of play, incorporating the theoretical speculations of such

soccer historians as Jonathan Wilson in Inverting the Pyramid and Simon Kuper and

Stefan Sarmaki in Soccernomics, would also add to our knowledge. If indeed there are

national styles of play and national characteristics influencing them, and if a society’s

opening to political and social changes lead to greater success on the field or to a more

free-flowing style of play (the Netherland in the 1960’s and 1970’s or Spain in the last

decade as prime examples) it is likely that the major changes taking place in the Middle

East will be expressed in the game too.37

Globalization in its multifaceted forms keeps shaping Middle Eastern societies in

powerful ways, affecting communication, exposure to foreign cultures, and beliefs. It also

includes global sport networks, more players from the global South plying their trade in

the developed north, and an infusion of foreign money and resources, seen in the efforts

of such teams as real Madrid to build sport academies and facilities in the Gulf States.

The financial resources flow both ways as evidenced by the increased control held by

foreign tycoons and oligarchs, including Middle Eastern ones, over European teams and

venues. The 2022 Mundial to be held in Qatar is another example of the impact of

Globalization, and is already raising issues about human and labour rights in the country.

How will these and similar developments affect the game, in the region and outside of it,

and society at large? Some research is currently being done on these issues and more can

be expected.

Another aspect of globalization is the explosion of new media. These have played

an important role in the Arab Spring revolts (as well as in state repression) and are

37
Wilson, Inverting the Pyramid. ; Kuper, Soccernomics.
impacting local cultures, and especially youth cultures. Mahfoud Amara’s recent study on

Algerian football culture and youth politics is one such study.38

There have been several studies of the connection between sport and

development, and between sport and peace. While the belief that the game, especially at

the youth level, can aid in decreasing suspicions and hostilities between players of

antagonistic groups, specific studies, of the kind conducted recently by Baha Zoubi

among Jewish and Palestinian youth in the Galilee, that examine the long-lasting effects

on individuals would be helpful.39

The relationship between soccer and religion is another important area that needs

investigating. Possible avenues might include how the game relates to religious

institutions, how the game takes on religious dimensions, and its role in the process of

secularization. Has it helped undermine levels of attendance and participation in these

institutions or undermined faith? Will religious authorities try to incorporate the game

into their political agendas? Comparing the influence and attitudes of Islam with those of

the Muscular Christianity movement of an earlier era, (regarding play on the day of rest

or attitudes towards women’s bodies, participation in sport, and autonomy,) could also

yield insights.

Women’s participation in the game, as players, fans, writers, and administrators is

bound to grow in number and result in greater general public acceptance. While

fundamentalist religious response is expected, the courage and dedication that women

have shown, in the sport arena and in society at large, will prevail. The barriers are not

new as evidenced by Turkish scholar Betul Yarar in her study on modernization, women,
38
Amara, ‘Football Sub-Culture and Youth Politics in Algeria.
39
Schinke, Sport for Development, Peace, and Social Justice ;Zoubi, The Ripple Effect
of Jewish and Arab Participation.’
and sport, in the early years of the Turkish Republic (the 1920’s and 30’s.) Looking at

historical precedents and scholarship that addresses the obstacles as well as the way walls

are overcome would be welcome.40

The histories of many teams offer fascinating portraits of their societies. Egypt’s’

Al Ahley and Zamelek, with their origins in the early days of the 20 th century and the

different sides they have represented in the struggle for independence, are obvious

choices. In Cyprus, Appolon and APOEL are popular with more politically conservative

fans while Omonoia is associated with the left. In the politically turbulent 1940’s, players

of APOEL who refused to align themselves with a right-wing ideology founded

Omonoia. This history and the way the teams have interacted over the decades are an

unexplored area of research. Robert Edelman’s excellent study of Spartak Moscow,

exploring its importance as a symbol of dissent during the Soviet era and its essential role

in society, could point the way for a similar study about a Middle Eastern team.41

As with soccer literature elsewhere, there are portraits of Middle Eastern players,

coaches, and managers, but most are of the factual or hagiographic kind while critical

explorations of their subject’s political commitments and connections to the larger social

issues are rare. Some past players who challenged their societies’ norms and political

structures include the Iraqi player and coach Ammo Baba whose endurance and

resistance, at great personal risk, during the Saddam Hussein era, has made him a

national hero. Turkish Metin Kurt came from a working class background and during his

time as a Galatasaray star in the 1970’s expressed his political opinions and tried to

organize a footballers’ union, paying a price for it. His career and politics, as a player and

40
Yarar, ‘Civilized Women and Light Sports.’
41
Edelman, Spartak Moscow.
later a union activist, examined in the context of his era, would provide a fascinating

biography. Among current footballers whose lives intersect with historical events are

Syrian national team goalkeepers and activists in the national resistance movement Abd

al-Saroot and Mosab Balhous, and the many Bahraini players who participated in protests

and were arrested. Notable women soccer pioneers whose lives and careers could shed

much light on their societies include Egyptian Sahar Al-Hawari, and Saudi Reem

Abdullah, founder of the Jeddah Kings United Team, Saudi Arabia’s first (semi-

clandestine) women’s team.

Similarly, there is a need for more work on the way the game is played by

millions of non-professionals in the streets, schools, playgrounds, and improvised

settings, and whose devotion to the game is beyond the quest for fame and monetary

rewards. How and why does the game matter so much in the daily lives of men and

women, during peaceful times and also during tumultuous periods? Nashaat Hussein’s

recent study of street soccer in Cairo is one such work.42

While British sports’ publishing is rich in fans’ autobiographical accounts, few

such works by Middle Easterners have appeared. Among the exceptions are Nader

Jahanfard’s Everything I need to Know I Learned in Football, the story of his soccer

enthused youth in pre-Islamic Revolution Iran.43 There are a growing number of literary,

artistic, and film works where soccer is the subject or features prominently and these

could be analyzed, individually, thematically, or cross-culturally. The new forms of

fandom expressed, via social media, songs placed on the web, fanzines, and street art,

offer additional possibilities for analysis.44

42
Nashaat, ’Street Soccer in Greater Cairo.’
43
Jahanfard, Everything I need to Know I Learned in Football.
 Conclusion

In July 2007 The Iraqi national soccer team won the Asian Cup. Sunnis, Shiites,

Christians, Kurds, and members of other ethnic and religious groups were elated.

44
See for example the recent Egyptian street art commemorating the role played by the
Ultras in the uprising, and the Port Said stadium disaster- In the Midst of Madness:
Graffiti of the Ultras on Mohamed Mahmoud Street; AUC and the Port Said Mural.
Surviving decades of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, a bloody war with Iran, an

American invasion and occupation, destruction, poverty, and continual sectarian

bloodshed, the spirited never-say-die attitude of the united national soccer team offered a

measure of hope for co-operation and unity.45

45
Turnbull, ‘Pride of Lions .’

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2008.

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in Iraq’, in Muslim Women and Sport, ed. T. Been, G. Pfister, and H. Jawad (London:

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Amara, Mahfoud. ‘Football Sub-Culture and Youth Politics in Algeria. Mediterranean

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Macmillan, 2011.
 Bringing together individuals, classes, and nations under its banner has been a

role soccer has played in the Middle East since its introduction at the end of the 19 th

century. It has led many lives as it helped usher in western ideas and values, serve as a

political tool for leaders and states, and overcome opposition by conservative elements.

At these times of great political and cultural turmoil and change across the Middle East

‘AUC and the Port Said Mural-A Personal Plea’ mural

http://suzeeinthecity.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/auc-and-the-port-said-mural-a-personal-

plea/

Benn, Tansin, Haifaa Jawad and Gertrud Pfister, eds. Muslim Women and Sport. London:

Routledge, 2010.

Ben Porat, Amir and Yair Galily, eds., Sport, Politics, and Society in the Land of Israel.

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