JEDDAH, 1 September 2006 — Youths are gearing up for the annual amateur Ramadan football tournaments that kick off less than 30 days from know.
Teams have increased their training periods and are picking out their starting players.
Football is played on all levels during the month of Ramadan; some of the more advanced players are paid to play on teams and given rewards after each victory. Other tournaments are just played for fun.
Football has become a major activity during the holy month of Ramadan in the Kingdom, the most viewed neighborhood tournaments all year around are the ones held in Ramadan. In some cases audiences gather up in thousands to watch high-profile neighborhood competitions.
“Football is a craze during Ramadan, as long as I remember, tournaments have been very popular among youth at this time of year,” said Anwar, a 28-year-old resident of south Jeddah.
“In Ramadan my friends and me attend tournaments around the city almost every day.” The most prominent neighborhood players take their game seriously during Ramadan.
They train twice a day as they study the deals offered to them by team sponsors. The best footballers can earn up to SR25,000 to represent a team during Ramadan. Some players who come from out of town are sponsored by their home cities, which include covering transportation and living expenses.
Anwar recalled his most memorable moment: “I can never forget that goal years back in what was one of the most popular tournaments in Jeddah, the Municipality tournament, (the tournament was canceled a few years back).” “That goal,” as Anwar put it, was scored by Ali Al-Ansary, the son of Mali immigrants who was born in Makkah. It was the semifinals. The game went to penalty kicks. The last shot of the game was kicked by Al-Ansary who was playing for Shabab Al-Yanabi. He crossed his legs and took the shot in a form we see international stars do today and scored.
“That goal was one of the most talked about goals in Ramadan tournaments,” said Anwar.
Today Al-Ansary runs a number of football fields in Jeddah. He said that the number of people renting fields has increased.
“It’s typical. We’re on the doorsteps of the Ramadan season and more and more teams are getting ready for the tournaments,” he said.
Al-Ansary joins some of the teams playing in fields to keep in shape as a lot of teams in Jeddah have their eye on the player.
At one the field run by Al-Ansary, Yaman was leading a team put together by a group of Jeddawi youths. The players were preparing to face off in a couple of Ramadan tournaments.
They have been playing for the past two months, honing their offensive and defensive skills.
There are 20 players, but only 12 of them will make it to the tourneys, so the competition among them is strong.
Yaman, the team captain said they have not exactly made up their minds on which players would represent the team.
“But as our training hours pick up the next up coming days will give use an idea depending on how physically well the players are prepared,” he said.
Yamen’s team has not landed a sponsor yet but planning to do so in this upcoming month.
They are currently chipping in to financial support their team, each player paid around SR200 a month to pay for the uniforms, water and field rental fees.
It’s not just the players that get a chance to be aid for doing something they love; the demand for qualified referees means better pay, up to SR2,000 per match during Ramadan, according to Jamel Falatah, a Saudi who organizes some of the tournaments. Even non-professional refs, essentially trusted neighbors, can get SR500 per match.
For organizers, Ramadan football tournaments are a business; they make money by owning and renting coveted grass fields.
Tournament fees, which range from SR500 to SR5,000 are also a source of revenue.
According to one organizer, who only wanted to be called Saed, the profits for the month-long Ramadan football tournaments can be as high as SR30,000.
Saed said he was worried that the Ramadan football craze isn’t going to last forever as other interests steal Saudis away from the football pitches.
“Youths have gained new interests, such as hanging out in coffee shops and playing other recreational events, such as pool.” Saed also pointed out that over the years the number of tournaments and organizers has essentially saturated the market, decreasing the number of fans at any particular match.
The peripheral businesses also florish during the season in the form of concessions. At any of these matches can be seen dozens of mobile food vendors hawking balaela, a traditional Ramadan snack made from chickpeas.
“We follow the crowds and the best spot in Ramadan is soccer fields that’s where we find the largest gatherings,” said Abu Ahmed, a 60-year-old Yemeni street vendor who sells ugmoush, a meat-filled pastry. “Football fields during the month of Ramadan are way on the top of the list of money earners.”
