Abstract
Football, the beautiful game, is for many supporters a source of joy and happiness and an escape from social and economic challenges. By examining the history of football since its introduction under the British occupation, the study highlights the social and political role played by football in the Egyptian history and discusses the relationship between football and social and political changes. Football managers, players, and even workers in sports media have all welcomed the intervention of political leaders in the game and used it for their own purposes. The major achievements of the Egyptian football were used to raise the spirit of national pride and to glorify the political regime. Social groups, like the Ultras, also used football to fuel opposition against the political system by leading popular demonstrations in the streets against corruption and bad governance and spreading violence, instability, and political unrest in the country.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
J.A. Mangan, “Cultural Hegemony and the Institutionalization of British Games”, a paper presented at the University of Alberta, Class Edmonton, March 1983.
- 2.
Colin Veitch, “Play up! Play up! And win the War: The Nation and the First World War 1914–15”, Journal of Contemporary History, Vol 20, No. 3, July 1985, p. 366.
- 3.
Christopher Ferraro, Imperialism, Cultural Identity and Football: How the empire created Egypt’s National Sport, Ph.D. Thesis, St. John’s University, New York, 2015, pp. 130–133.
- 4.
Yaser Ayoub, “History of Egyptians with Football (4): Mohamed (Effendy) Nashed” (in Arabic), 14 May 2014, accessed on 15 May 2018 at: http://www.yallakora.com/.
- 5.
Shaun Lopez, “Sport and Society in the Middle East: An Alternate Narrative of Middle Eastern History for the American College Classroom”, Middle East Critique, Vol 18, No. 3, Autumn 2009, pp. 251–260.
- 6.
Yasmin Yehya, “Oldest 10 clubs in Egypt” (in Arabic), El Youm El Sabe3 newspaper (the 7th day), 4 October 2016, accessed on 16 May 2018, at: https://www.youm7.com.
- 7.
Halim ElMouniry, Essam Badawy, Management in Sport (in Arabic), Academic Bookshop, Part 1, 1991, pp. 154–155.
- 8.
Hutchison, P. M., “Breaking Boundaries: Football and Colonialism in the British Empire”, Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse, Vol 1, Issue 11, 2009, last accessed on 13 April 2018, at: www.inquiriesjournal.com/.
- 9.
Islam Hassan, “When the British occupation caused the birth of the Egyptian Team” (in Arabic), 28 June 2015, accessed on 15 May 2018, at: http://www.dotmsr.com/.
- 10.
The Mixed Courts of Egypt was an unusual legal institution, founded by the Khedive Ismail, the king of Egypt, in 1875. The Khedive appointed their judges, Egyptians and foreign. By applying a mix of Civil Law and Islamic Law, they tried commercial and civil disputes between nationals and foreigners and between foreigners of different nationalities. Many researchers say its establishment aimed to control, not stress, the foreign dominance in Egypt. They were abolished in 1949.
Mark S. W. Hoyle, “The Mixed Courts of Egypt: An Anniversary Assessment”, Arab Law Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1, November 1985, pp. 60–68.
- 11.
Amna Zacharias, “Only a game? Not in Egypt”, The National, 24 June 2014, accessed on 15 May 2018, at: www.thenational.ae/world/.
- 12.
Yasmin Yehya, op. cit.
Worth telling that Egyptian sporting clubs were never limited to practicing sports. They are gathering places where members can also socialize, enjoy the day by the pool or hangout, and have lunch with their families. Now, to join the club, members pay extremely high one-time membership fees in addition to an annual subscription. Sporting clubs are affiliated to the government, the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS), which allocate their budget and monitor their financial matters.
- 13.
“History of the Egyptian football game”, State Information System, accessed on 15 May 2018 at: www.sis.gov.eg/.
- 14.
Soliman Al-Naqr, “Do you know the official capacity of Egyptian stadiums? Burj Al Arab is in the lead” (in Arabic), El Youm El Sabe3 newspaper (the 7th day), 1 May 2018, accessed on 16 May 2018, at: www.youm7.com.
- 15.
“Nationalism and violence in Egyptian football culture”, The Nordic Africa Institute, January 18, 2017, accessed on 18 April 2018, at: www.nai.uu.se.
- 16.
EFA official website, http://www.efa.com.eg/.
- 17.
“History of the Egyptian football game”, op. cit.
- 18.
EFA official website, http://www.efa.com.eg/.
- 19.
Africa Sports official website, “Al Ahly Will Surpass Real Madrid”—Alessandro Altobelli (africatopsports.com).
- 20.
“Egypt’s Christian Captain”, BBC News, 1 December 2001, last accessed on 18 May 2018, at: www.news.bbc.co.uk.
- 21.
“30 years on Top” (in Arabic), Eurosport News, 25 June 2011, last accessed on 18 May 2018, at: www.arabia.eurosport.com/.
- 22.
Adham Al-Badrawy, “Mido ends his football career after 178 local and international goals” (in Arabic), The 7th day (Al-Youm Al-Sabe3), 11 June 2013, last accessed on 15 May 2018, at: www.youm7.com/.
- 23.
Amro Galal, “Magdi Abdul-Ghani: A history of achievements and glory” (in Arabic), Masr Al-Arabia, 27 July 2016, last accessed on 15 May 2018, at: www.masralarabia.com/.
- 24.
Asma Omar, “Mohamed Zidan: A brightening start in Europe’s stadiums and a dull end in the Egyptian League” (in Arabic), The 7th day (Al-Youm Al-Sabe3), 11 December 2016, last accessed on 15 May 2018, at: www.youm7.com/.
- 25.
Ibrahim Ramadhan, “The Master ‘Shehata’: a History of achievements and failures”, Tahrir News, 22 November, last accessed on 15 April 2018, at: http://www.tahrirnews.com.
- 26.
Kent Mensah, “Hassan Shehata: The ups & downs of his tremendous reign with the Pharaohs”, Goal last accessed on 15 April 2018 at: www.goal.com/.
- 27.
Abdel-Fatah Faraji, “The inspiring story of Egypt and Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah”, Arab News, 4 March 2018, last accessed on 20 May 2018, at: www.arabnews.com.
- 28.
“The ‘Mohamed Salah Effect’ is real—my research shows how he inspires Egyptian youth”, The Conversation, 25 May 2018, last accessed on 20 April 2018, at: www.theconversation.com/.
- 29.
Ahmed Meshref, “The distracting noise: politicizing football in Egypt”, The Gazelle, 16 April 2016, accessed on 20 May 2018, at: www.thegazelle.org.
- 30.
Mohamed Kassem, “Wahed – Sefr” (One-Zero), Cinema, accessed on 20 April 2018 at: www.elcinema.com/.
- 31.
Mohamed F.A. Ebrahim, N. David Pifer and others, “Is Egyptian soccer well-positioned for business purposes? Assessing competitive balance in the Egyptian Premier League”, International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Vol. 19, Issue 2, pp. 238–240.
- 32.
Inas Mohamed Ali Mazhar, The Edgy Relationship between Sports Media and Sports Organizations in Egypt: The Urgency for an Effective Media Policy, A Thesis of Master of Public Policy, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, the American University in Cairo, December 2014, pp. 25–27.
- 33.
Nashwa AbdelTawab, “Politics of Sport”, Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper, 15 December 2005, issue No. 773, last accessed on 20 May 2018, at: weekly.ahram.org.eg.
- 34.
Manal Hamzeh and Heather Sykes, “Egyptian Football Ultras and the January 25th Revolution”, Anthropology of the Middle East, Vol. 9, No. 2, Winter 2014, pp. 96–97.
- 35.
Mohamed Alaa El-Din, Sports media has been neglected in Egypt: Hazem Emam, Daily News Egypt, 05 December 2015, last accessed on 15 May 2018, at: https://dailynewsegypt.com/.
- 36.
Dorsey, James M. “Egyptian coach under fire for supporting Mubarak”, Bleach report online, 17 February 2011 at: Egyptian Coach Under Fire for Supporting Mubarak | Bleacher Report | Latest News, Videos and Highlights.
- 37.
Omar, Islam, “Footballer Zidan saw Mubarak as ‘Egypt’s father’”, Al-Ahram newspaper Online, 22 February 2012, at: Footballer Zidan saw Mubarak as ‘Egypt’s father’—Talents Abroad—Sports—Ahram Online.
- 38.
“Nationalism and violence in Egyptian football culture”, The Nordic Africa Institute, 18 January 2017, accessed on 18 April 2018, at: http://nai.uu.se/.
- 39.
James M. Dorsey, “Rooted in History: Politics, Identity, and Ultras in North African Soccer”, in: Onwumechili C., Akindes G. (eds) Identity and Nation in African Football. Global Culture and Sport. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2014, pp. 50–51.
- 40.
Amira Taha, The Ultras in Egypt: Political role before and after 25 January 2011, Thesis in Comparative Politics, The American University in Cairo, 2015, pp. 31–45, 82–88.
- 41.
Ahmed Rizvi, “Football in times of Crisis: In Egypt, mix of politics, economics and revolution proves combustible”, The national, 22 July 2015, accessed on 15 April 2018, at: https://www.thenational.ae/.
References
“30 Years on Top” (in Arabic), Eurosport News, 25 June 2011, last accessed on 18 May 2018, at: www.arabia.eurosport.com/
“Egypt’s Christian Captain”, BBC News, 1 December 2001, last accessed on 18 May 2018, at: www.news.bbc.co.uk
“History of the Egyptian football game”, State Information System, accessed on 15 May 2018 at: www.sis.gov.eg/
“Nationalism and violence in Egyptian football culture”, The Nordic Africa Institute, January 18, 2017, accessed on 18 April 2018, at: www.nai.uu.se
“The ‘Mohamed Salah Effect’ is real—my research shows how he inspires Egyptian youth”, The Conversation, 25 May 2018, last accessed on 20 April 2018 at: www.theconversation.com/
AbdelTawab, Nashwa, “Politics of Sport, Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper, 15 December 2005, issue No. 773, last accessed on 20 May 2018, at: weekly.ahram.org.eg
Alaa El-Din, Mohamed, Sports media has been neglected in Egypt: Hazem Emam, Daily News Egypt, 05 Dec 2015, last accessed on 15 May 2018, at: https://dailynewsegypt.com/
Al-Badrawy, Adham, “Mido ends his football career after 178 local and international goals” (in Arabic), The 7th day (Al-Youm Al-Sabe3), 11 June 2013, last accessed on 15 May 2018, at: www.youm7.com/
Al-Naqr, Soliman, “Do you know the official capacity of Egyptian stadiums? Burj Al Arab is in the lead” (in Arabic), El Youm El Sabe3 newspaper (the 7th day), 1 May 2018, accessed on 16 May 2018, at: www.youm7.com
Ayoub, Yaser, “History of Egyptians with Football (4): Mohamed (Effendy) Nashed” (in Arabic), 14 May 2014, accessed on 15 May 2018 at: http://www.yallakora.com/
Dorsey, James M., “Rooted in History: Politics, Identity, and Ultras in North African Soccer”, in: Onwumechili C., Akindes G. (eds) Identity and Nation in African Football. Global Culture and Sport. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2014.
Ebrahim, Mohamed F.A. & Pifer, N. David and others, “Is Egyptian soccer well-positioned for business purposes? Assessing competitive balance in the Egyptian Premier League”, International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Vol. 19, Issue 2.
EFA official website, http://www.efa.com.eg/
ElMouniry, Halim & Badawy, Essam, Management in Sport (in Arabic), Academic Bookshop, Part 1, 1991.
Faraji, Abdel-Fatah, “The inspiring story of Egypt and Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah”, Arab News, 4 March 2018, last accessed on 20 May 2018, at: www.arabnews.com
Ferraro, Christopher, Imperialism, Cultural Identity and Football: How the empire created Egypt’s National Sport, Ph.D. Thesis, St. John’s University, New York, 2015.
Galal, Amro, “Magdi Abdul-Ghani: A history of achievements and glory” (in Arabic), Masr Al-Arabia, 27 July 2016, last accessed on 15 May 2018, at: www.masralarabia.com/
Hamzeh, Manal and Sykes, Heather, “Egyptian Football Ultras and the January 25th Revolution”, Anthropology of the Middle East, Vol. 9, No. 2, Winter 2014.
Hassan, Islam, “When the British occupation caused the birth of the Egyptian Team” (in Arabic), 28 June 2015, accessed on 15 May 2018, at: http://www.dotmsr.com/
Hoyle, Mark S. W., “The Mixed Courts of Egypt: An Anniversary Assessment”, Arab Law Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1, November 1985.
Hutchison, P. M., “Breaking Boundaries: Football and Colonialism in the British Empire”, Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse, Vol 1, Issue 11, 2009, last accessed on 13 April 2018, at: www.inquiriesjournal.com/
Kassem, Mohamed, “Wahed – Sefr” (One-Zero), Cinema, accessed on 20 April 2018 at: www.elcinema.com/
Lopez, Shaun, “Sport and Society in the Middle East: An Alternate Narrative of Middle Eastern History for the American College Classroom”, Middle East Critique, Vol 18, No. 3, Autumn 2009.
Mangan, J.A., “Cultural Hegemony and the Institutionalization of British Games”, a paper presented at the University of Alberta, Class Edmonton, March 1983.
Mensah, Kent, “Hassan Shehata: The ups & downs of his tremendous reign with the Pharaohs”, Goal last accessed on 15 April 2018 at: www.goal.com/
Meshref, Ahmed, “The distracting noise: politicizing football in Egypt”, The Gazelle, 16 April 2016, accessed on 20 May 2018, at: www.thegazelle.org
Mohamed Ali Mazhar, Inas, The Edgy Relationship between Sports Media and Sports Organizations in Egypt: The Urgency for an Effective Media Policy, A Thesis of Master of Public Policy, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, the American University in Cairo, December 2014.
Omar, Asma, “Mohamed Zidan: A brightening start in Europe’s stadiums and a dull end in the Egyptian League” (in Arabic), The 7th day (Al-Youm Al-Sabe3), 11 December 2016, last accessed on 15 May 2018, at: www.youm7.com/
Ramadhan, Ibrahim, “The Master ‘Shehata’: a History of achievements and failures”, Tahrir News, 22 November, last accessed on 15 April 2018, at: http://www.tahrirnews.com
Rizvi, Ahmed, “Football in times of Crisis: In Egypt, mix of politics, economics and revolution proves combustible”, The national, 22 July 2015, accessed on 15 April 2018, at: https://www.thenational.ae/
Taha, Amira, The Ultras in Egypt: Political role before and after 25 January 2011, Thesis in Comparative Politics, The American University in Cairo, 2015.
Veitch, Colin, “Play up! Play up! And win the War: The Nation and the First World War 1914–15”, Journal of Contemporary History, Vol 20, No. 3, July 1985.
Yehya, Yasmin, “Oldest 10 clubs in Egypt” (in Arabic), El Youm El Sabe3 newspaper (the 7th day), 4 October 2016, accessed on 16 May 2018, at: https://www.youm7.com
Zacharias, Amna, “Only a game? Not in Egypt”, The National, 24 June 2014, accessed on 15 May 2018, at: www.thenational.ae/world/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Thabet, H. (2022). Football in Egypt: Between Joy and Politics. In: Ayuk, A.E. (eds) Football (Soccer) in Africa. Global Culture and Sport Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94866-5_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94866-5_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-94865-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-94866-5
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)