Ahmed Morsy sees the modifications the World Cup has made in Egypt's daily routine The 2010 World Cup has apparently served to produce a month of little concentration and even less productivity in Egyptian society, a lethargy not unlike that of the month of Ramadan. With three matches a day to watch in just the first round, and a total of 64 games from 11 June to 11 July, people are pushing any and all obstacles out of the way to watch the games, while doing nothing else about anything else. Irrespective of age, sex or working position, the public always seems to find a way to not miss a match. The most serious dilemma relates to high school and university students who are still taking their finals -- right in the middle of the world's biggest sporting event. "Although I have exams, I keep watching the World Cup games," Mahmoud Helmi, a 21-year-old university student, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "I keep my books opened in front of me while watching the matches. I divide my time between studying and watching even if the exam is the next day," Helmi said. "Thank God not all the games are good or else I wouldn't have been able to study at all." Samar Ali is also a university student who has put her studies aside in favour of the World Cup. "It [the World Cup] comes only once every four years. So why should I concentrate on studying while a game like England and the United States is being played?" asked Ali. "However, I don't watch the three games every day. I think just one of them is worth watching," she added. Students taking the thanaweya amma, or high school, exams can't seem to make up their mind: either study for the all-important tests which will ultimately decide which university and which college they will enter which in turn will largely determine their entire future, or enjoy watching the best footballers in the world. For many, the choice is obvious. "I'm a football fanatic but it's difficult for me to fully watch any of the matches," Karim Zekri, a thanaweya amma student, said. "I have to guess which will be the best matches since I can't watch them all. Still, I find it a problem trying to persuade my parents that I'll watch only selective games," Zekri added. "I sometimes tell my parents that I'll go and study at a friend's house, then watch the game with him since his parents are more flexible. I don't repeat it because they might think I'm lying. "That's why I have to change the plan. In another match, after arranging it with friends, I told my parents we were revising in school. We went out instead to watch the match in a café." Companies have begun to realise they should find a way to let employees see World Cup matches, at least during breaks. "I have nothing else on my mind except football," Ahmed Helmi, 27, confessed. "My output and work performance are suffering. Every day there is a match being played during work but I don't have time to watch it. I can only check the score from time to time online." Ahmed Aref, 25, is an employee who encouraged his office colleagues to watch the games during lunch break. "At first, I secretly used to watch the games online [on one of the streaming live websites]. Unfortunately, my employer found out after the Internet slowed down," Aref said. "He warned me and all the others about doing the same thing during working hours. After that I persuaded him that we could watch during the break." There are a surprising number of non-football fans who are watching the World Cup. "I was shocked when two of my female friends asked me who would be playing tomorrow and when," Ahmed Emara, 26, said. "They never talked about football and always got angry when we went to a café to watch a match. "Now," Emara added sarcastically, "after recently discovering that the ball is round, they've become habitual World Cup viewers."
