Football is divided between players and politicians. Caught between the two are millions of fans who watch matches or celebrate football victories in the streets. These fans are happy when a goal is scored by Gedo, and choose to remain silent when politicians attribute football triumphs to themselves, because winning is what concerns them in the first place. The people adore Hassan Shehata, Ahmed Hassan and Gedo, and they laugh out loud when the pro-regime press dedicates a football victory to the regime. In the same way that the political regime attributes football success to itself, every other success seems also to be attributable to the regime. Failures, meanwhile, are blamed on all Egyptians--but not the regime. I was asked about my article from last Sunday, "Hassan Shehata scored a goal." The question was: "Why do we win in football and lose in many other things [...] Isn't the Egyptian who plays football the same as other Egyptians?" I totally disagree with the point of view, adopted by many other official press journalists, which states that our football victory is an expression of a more comprehensive progress that Egypt is achieving. All international reports say that we are way behind, in everything other than football, that is. People say that international figures represent a form of interference in our internal affairs. Alright then, why don't they take a look at how Egyptians live, and point out the victories that we can't see? There's a radical difference between football and other affairs in Egypt. The reasons lie with Hassan Shehata, or indeed any other coach who leads his players to a win. But how? When it comes to football, selecting players for a match is governed primarily by the competence of players. In football, nobody interferes with the work of a coach, perhaps because politicians don't understand football, or because they are scared to let football control their political destinies. Therefore, politicians will always wait for the referee to announce the end of a match before claiming a victory, if it happens, or conversely, disowning a loss. In football, there isn't an Article 77, the coach fully understands that he has to leave if he fails, and the player is aware that he will stay at home if he doesn't play well. Nothing stays on forever, there are no elections or referendums,and only end results determine destinies. When it comes to football, commentary and criticism is allowed, attack possible, and spectator cheering permissible no matter how harsh all of this may be. In fact, the spectators hold the reins, and the spectators who buy the cheapest tickets are the ones the players and their coach seek to please. In football, the rules are fixed, unified and fair. The rules may change, but they always favor the game, and the people who come to watch it. No "amendments" are introduced to serve the "ruler of the game," everyone is equal, and the players know that the rules of the game develop over time and are never patched up or tailored to serve certain interests. In football, the vision is well-known, the plans firm. Youth lead their teams. There's no ganging up, and there are no "old guards" imposing themselves on the team. If Gedo, who comes from a small town in Beheira, is a good enough player, he gets on board. If Medo, an expatriate player, turns out not to be committed enough, then he has no place on the team. The coach has his eyes set on the future, and injecting new blood is the rule--not the exception. In football, Hassan Shehata knows all the details, because those around him tell him everything frankly and the response of the fans is delivered directly to him. In football, Egypt mostly wins, and when it loses, it's an honorable loss. In other realms, Egypt mostly loses and when it does win, the spoils go to the VIP spectators. That is the difference between football and politics. Transalted from the Arabic Edition.
