Egypt’s national football team has been up and down since US coach Bob Bradley took over. Photo: 2010 national team

CAIRO: Turmoil has faced Egyptian football since February 1, after fans attacked a visiting team’s supporters in the city of Port Said, killing at least 75 people in what is one of the worst cases of football violence in the sport’s history.

Adding to the misery of Egyptian fans, they have been barred from watching their national team battle opposing country’s, as security officials say they are uncertain about the safety of fans inside stadiums across the country. Along with the lack of game time, Egypt’s national team suffered another surprise African Cup of Nations exit, losing to Central Africa Republic in July.

American coach Bob Bradley told reporters that he wants to see the domestic league return, so players can have match experience and prepare for the arduous World Cup qualification, seen as a goal for Bradley and the Egyptian Football Association (EFA).

“My players were exhausted after the clash with Guinea [in the World Cup Qualifier] only five days ago,” former US coach Bradley told reporters after what many say is arguably the biggest upset in African Cup of Nations qualifying history when Egypt was ousted from preliminary qualification, adding that the lack of match play has hindered the team’s development.

The domestic league ban has seen players not stick to their respective training regimes, said a trainer for the country’s most prestigious club al-Ahly. He said that while he and other trainers try to get players to the pitch on a regular basis, many have become disillusioned by the lack of matches and an uncertainty about the future.

“They need to train for something. Without games on the schedule, it is hard to motivate a lot of the players,” he said.

For Bradley and the national team this has been disastrous. But the downtime among players has seen the emergence and rise of the Ultras – Egypt’s firebrand hardcore fans – who have taken to the streets against the military, which they believed supported the football association’s top officials and protected them, ultimately allowing the violence in Port Said to occur.

In February, following the violence in Port Said, thousands of fans, with the Ultras leading the way, took to the streets of downtown Cairo. They were attacked by the military and police forces, with tear gas flying in every direction, birdshot hitting the legs, faces and arms of the protesters. It was a defiant show of strength for the disillusioned fans who felt the security forces had stood by and allowed fans to attack one another – video emerged showing security forces standing idly in a tunnel as the violence persisted.

It was not the first time the Ultras took to the streets in protest and support for democratic change, but this time in was noticeably about football and security. The days of clashes in downtown Cairo led to the end of the domestic league and the unending debate over the role of football in Egyptian society.

On the walls of Mohamed Mahmoud Street and Mansour Street – the flashpoint of the battles in November and February, respectively – are graffiti remembering the “martyrs” who had been killed in Port Said.

Star Egyptian forward Mohamed Abu Treika – arguably Egypt’s most favored and popular player – was a huge supporter of the revolution, inspiring thousands of fans to take to the streets.

Mahmoud Shenawy, one of the leaders of the February demonstrations, said that the Ultras are “fed up with the current situation.” While he says they do not want to see a return to the violent days late last year and early this year, he argued that the return of the Egyptian league will be instrumental in giving Egyptians something to escape to, and removal of what he called the “Mubarak-era football policies.”

Many of the top officials at the clubs around the country had links with the former regime and that led to much tension between fans and the clubs following the January 2011 uprising. In many ways, the Port Said clashes were a direct result of this, said one football reporter with a major Arabic daily.

“We saw the former regime really take an interest in football following the uprising because they saw it as a way to maintain their ties with power and money,” the reporter said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to his position and contacts with clubs.

“Still today, we see a lot of money within Egyptian football from the era of Mubarak and many of the officials are still the same. This has frustrated fans, understandably, because they were at the frontlines of protests many times,” he said.

While Egypt’s financial earnings are largely secret, the EFA had been known to have links with the Mubarak family, notably Alaa Mubarak, one of Mubarak’s sons, who had helped finance Egyptian football clubs, using what many believe was “corrupt money” acquired from his position as the president’s son.

Unity among fans

“Football is in our blood. All Egyptians are fans at some level, so it is always sad to see it when we don’t get to watch games and really establish brotherhood in the stands,” Shenawy said.

Despite the tumultuous past year and a half in Egypt, politically, socially and with sport, fans are looking to put the past behind them and move forward in a unified manner.

Ahly supporter and member of the Ultras fans, Ahmed Shebrawy argued that the violence in Port Said put football in perspective.

For him, like many others, football is an outlet, and as the national sport of Egypt, one that should be bring people together.

“We don’t need or want the divisions, we want support and to do so we have to be honorable,” he added.

BM