Even if we are excluded, we have to include ourselves. You just cannot resist it when everybody around you is talking about it, you find yourself getting closer day by day and suddenly you become part of it,” said 23-year-old Sufana Kamal.
It is true that only men in Saudi Arabia officially play soccer and are the only ones allowed to attend matches in the Kingdom, yet women watch and play soccer ‘behind the scenes’. Why behind the scenes? The answer is simple. In the late 1980s some female teachers suggested including sports like soccer and basketball in physical education lessons at schools, they were discouraged within three weeks. “Soccer was played for two or three weeks but then stopped,” said a retired teacher. The teacher added that it was stopped because some parents claimed it was inappropriate for their daughters to play masculine games. The teachers argued that it was better for students to indulge in such sports instead of wasting their time in chatting.
Fortunately the inappropriate image that was implanted in the minds of many did not last long. Private schools took the initiative all around the Kingdom to encourage female students to play sports. Soccer hence started to attract many; even if they did not play internationally or gain fame, girls trained, competed and cheered for one another. “And this is what soccer is all about,” said Asma Yamani who played soccer for six years. She however, has not been able to play for almost a year due to a serious knee injury.
“I love both playing and watching soccer. I enjoy the fun of playing soccer with a group of friends, there is so much excitement and enthusiasm in playing in a match or tournament,” she said adding that she likes the fact that soccer is a very physically demanding sport with a strong element of team work. Soccer enthusiasts like Asma do not just celebrate the World Cup when Saudi Arabia plays but rather become extremely happy each time a match is played regardless of who is playing.
Asma who looks forward to playing soccer again once she becomes better finds soccer to be a social event where friends can get together to play. She considers the World Cup as an event that brings together millions of people who share one interest.
One of the things Asma was grateful for was to move from a Saudi school to a British international school in Switzerland where she was given the opportunity to play soccer. She believes that in Saudi Arabia soccer is regarded too much of a male sport. It should be encouraged in girls’ schools she said, “Not so that women can pursue it as a career, but just for the fun and enjoyment of the sport.”
Playing soccer is something that is growing in popularity and being a soccer fanatic is a craze that seems to be erupting like a volcano especially since the beginning of this World Cup. The passion that is increasing in these women’s hearts for sports and soccer especially can no longer be stopped. Attending a match is a wish we all look forward to, said Kamal, but there are other activities that we can still enjoy such as the gatherings of friends at each other’s houses and coffee shops.
When Arab News reporters toured the coffee shops and restaurants in Jeddah during the last three Saudi matches, they found a huge number of women standing in lines trying to get in and trying to be there for their national team in good and bad times. They were dressed in green with green shirts under their Abayas, green scarves and green bags and shoes too. At least two tables in each restaurant and coffee shop where matches were shown on television screens had women holding their country’s green flag very proudly.
Alaa Abbar, who is a soccer fanatic and would not miss a good game no matter what, happened to be at Bubbles restaurant during the first Saudi Arabia match against Tunisia. She said that it was tempting to go there. “The owners announced that it is going to be on the house if Saudi won. We did not win,” she said and added people tried to bargain with the owners asking them to pay half price because of the 1-1 score. “It didn’t work unfortunately,” she said laughingly.
Casper & Gambini’s was one of the restaurants that distinguished itself from others with its exciting atmosphere that made you feel like you were at a real stadium. All the chairs were turned around to face the monitors. Families and women at the family’s section were shouting and clapping their hands every time the teams were close to scoring. “Yalla, Gooooal, Shoot the ball,” people were repeating.
“I came here to cheer for the Saudi team since I’m a big fan of soccer, especially when it comes to the Saudi national team,” said Rawan Hammad, a young Saudi woman who used to play soccer while studying at a school in London. “I used to play in the school team as well as in the local team,” she added.
Alia Soufi, 26, also said that it is nice for once to share all the excitement with the people here at such a joyful time.
The subject of the World Cup and the national teams’ performances is not only discussed in gatherings of men. Women have started to discus subjects like who got yellow cards in the match yesterday, how was the goal scored and who was cuter. Whether they are in a wedding, a funeral or at work Saudis are unable to get over the World Cup. “They did not call it the World Cup fever for nothing,” said Kamal.
