Word: egyptian
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...there's soccer-related turmoil to cope with. Dozens of Algerian and Egyptian fans were injured in assaults and clashes following the Nov. 14 match. Sudan and Algeria have accused the Egyptian press of unfair treatment. And in a particularly humiliating blow, the sport's governing body FIFA launched formal disciplinary procedures against the Egyptian Football Association last week, in response to an attack by Egyptian fans on the Algerian team bus ahead of the Nov. 14 match...
There's nothing like the threat of war to mobilize the support of a nation. So perhaps it's not surprising that posturing over a soccer war with Algeria may be the most popular move the thoroughly unpopular Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, has made in a long time...
...intense bid for a spot at next year's World Cup in South Africa. It was the first time the two had played a World Cup qualifying match in 20 years, and in the weeks leading up to the first game and the days that followed, everyone from the Egyptian regime to local industries was busy ratcheting up support for the home team. (Read "Cairo Braces for a Soccer Bombshell...
...worked. In the aftermath, Egyptian and foreign observers alike marveled at a level of nationalist fervor and mass mobilization rarely seen before, and at a time when Mubarak, 81, is facing a rising tide of domestic dissent. On the night of the first game, which Egypt won, thousands of Egyptians flooded into the main thoroughfares of their capital, screaming, dancing and wreaking havoc. After the second game in Khartoum, in which Egypt lost its shot at the World Cup, the emphasis shifted to seeking revenge: hundreds amassed in front of the Algerian embassy in Cairo, burning Algerian flags, and eventually...
Even when the energy took a dark turn, the wave of emotion may have still served the interests of the 27-year-old Egyptian regime. "Football is the opium of the people," says Hossam el-Hamalawy, a prominent Egyptian blogger, journalist and activist. "Both Egypt and Algeria have been going through severe economic turmoil recently, in addition to political crises. What better way to divert the people's attention than a football...