Sports

  By PETER BAKER The New York Times   The latest battleground in the age-old struggle between Israelis and Palestinians is a remote patch of green artificial turf surrounded by barren desert hills in a place where dust gathers in the mouth before the afternoon sun begins to set. The home team is down 2-0 in the … Continued

Rahaf Khatib BY JULIE MAZZIOTTA People Magazine  Women’s Running just broke down another barrier – the magazine features Rahaf Khatib, a  Syrian-American Muslim woman who wears a hijab,on their October cover. Khatib, 32, is a six-time marathoner who documents her training and celebrates other Hijabis – Muslim women who cover everything but their hands, feet … Continued

RAYANA KHALAF Stepfeed After bringing home 16 medals from the Rio Olympics, Arab athletes brought the summer to an impressive end with 74 Paralympic medals. From the world’s only armless table tennis player, to the blind Algerian who ran faster than the Olympic gold medalist, Arab Paralympians made us proud this month. With great conviction, they showed us that the Paralympics … Continued

Kevin McKenna
The Guardian

The life of a committed football supporter in the UK could never be mistaken for a bowl of cherries. Since that first day, long in the planning, when his mother or father decided finally to inaugurate him into the sacred mysteries he has been condemned to be viewed with suspicion, fear and loathing by the government, civic authorities and the men who actually run the game.

Each of these estates has benefited greatly in the decades since the first rules of association football were drawn up. There is national prestige, free foreign travel with first-class accommodation and the opportunity to take a wee “clip” now and then when success causes its light to shine upon them all. None of them ever really experiences that peculiar numbness that comes with defeat for they only ever follow the money and the glory.

In those spaces between the big matches where global fame and marketing opportunities are at stake these three estates seem to spend their time either giving football supporters a right good kicking or dreaming up new ways of doing so. In their fantasy world, football success and the prestige that comes with it can be achieved without having to share it with the scum punters.

No one ought to be surprised by this. The state and its attendant offices have never been comfortable when large groups of mainly working-class men gather together in a common purpose. When you add alcohol and political fervour into the mix the result can sometimes be a little too saucy for the governors.

Games, along with military adventures and royal fecundity, have remained the favoured way of keeping the minds and bodies of the punters occupied while they are being cheated and exploited. But this football malarkey and the sheer numbers of its adherents, well… we must always keep an eye on them.

To civic Scotland and Holyrood, football supporters are regarded as occupying a position somewhere just above drug-pushers and just below crime lords: you can do business with organised crime but you can’t do business with football supporters. They are unpredictable and are driven by strange currents and deep emotions that a politician will never understand. Even after decades of being overcharged and made to watch the game in gulags these football fans remain true to their club.

That’s why small armies of policemen are deployed to kettle them and frogmarch them to and from matches. It’s also why the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act was drawn up. This is the act, unique in world law, where an innocent sentiment uttered at a rugby match in Edinburgh becomes a criminally offensive one when espoused in the vicinity of a football match in Glasgow.

So it was surely a welcome development when a group of Celtic fans deployed crowd-funding to raise money for two respected relief organisations operating in Palestine. When it was announced that Celtic would play the Israeli champions, Hapoel Be’er Sheva, in a Champions League play-off match, some of their fans wanted to use the game as an opportunity to make a small and peaceful protest about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinian people living in the West Bank.

So around 100 Celtic fans in a crowd of 60,000 waved Palestinian flags at the game in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians. They knew the game would be beamed live around the world and they simply wanted to communicate to an oppressed people that, in a small corner of Glasgow, they were not forgotten. The Israeli players were treated respectfully throughout, as was Celtic’s midfielder and Israeli international player Nir Bitton, who was given a standing ovation when he left the field.

Palestinian refugees chant thank you to Celtic fans for donations
Uefa, the organisation that runs European football, has deemed the Palestinian flag to be an “illicit banner” when it is waved at a football match and has begun disciplinary proceedings against Celtic. This will probably end in a fine approaching six figures as there have been several previous instances of unwarranted political behaviour by Celtic fans.

These supporters launched a #matchthefineforpalestine campaign to raise funds for two relief charities operating in the West Bank. Their reasons for doing so were eloquently expressed in a GoFundMe page. In this, they stated their aim of raising £75k to match any Uefa fine and then distribute it to the two nominated charities. At the time of writing they are comfortably past the £200k mark and will be approaching £500k by the time of the Uefa hearing on 22 September.

Uefa, hardly the most impressive organisation on Earth, doesn’t want politics to contaminate the beautiful game. If it did, there might have been more scrutiny of the way in which it operated as a global mafia, helping itself to the fruits of ordinary supporters’ love for football. Yet, often, football and its mass participation is an ideal place for angry young men and women to gather around and express solidarity.

During the fascist regime of General Franco in Spain, to display the Catalan flag was to risk death or imprisonment. The only place where the Catalans could safely fly these fags was Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium. Barcelona FC now embodies Catalan identity and pride. Wherever there is oppression in the world, football, by its very nature, can provide a vehicle for expressing pride in a national cause. It was never only ever about football.

Celtic supporters know this too. Their club was founded in 1887 and played its first game in 1888 to raise funds for the relief of the poor Irish who had gathered in the East End of Glasgow. When they arrived in the city they initially faced resentment, discrimination and squalor. Every time Celtic won a game their suffering was eased a little.

In Scotland, those days are long departed. In Palestine, though, another oppressed people is suffering. Perhaps now because of a simple act of solidarity and generosity, they will know that they don’t suffer alone.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Isra Saleh el-Namey 

The Electronic Intifada

Inas Nofal celebrates after winning a race in Gaza City in April. Khaled Omar Xinhua
After Rio, Tokyo.

Around the world, ambitious young athletes have already trained their sights on the next Olympic Games, dedicating time and effort to fulfilling their hopes and dreams.

And for few is this truer than Inas Nofal, a 15-year-old runner from Gaza, whose dedication to her sport is not only driving her own progress, but inspiring others.

“Running is an integral part of my life. I cannot spend a day without running for at least one hour,” Inas said.

The teenage runner has big dreams. She is committed to an exhausting daily training schedule in order to become good enough to compete at the international level.

“My dream is to represent Palestine at international tournaments,” said the young athlete who has not yet settled on her favorite distance. “I need to exercise hard to sharpen my skills so that I can be well-prepared for any future race I might be lucky enough to join.”

Inas starts her exercise routine in the cool early morning hours, racing down the streets of Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip where she lives. She is usually accompanied by her coach, Sami al-Natil, a former athlete who now devotes his time to guiding and training promising young athletes.

Al-Natil takes running seriously. “I want everyone in Gaza to understand how important running is for health and relaxation,” he said. Running, he added, is not just a sport: it’s a lifestyle.

Inas has impressed al-Natil with her attitude and courage. Everyone in Gaza, the coach emphasized, could learn from her example.

“Inas has remarkable talent,” the 38-year-old instructor said. “She deserves to be given a proper chance.”

A year of hard work
When Inas first began training with al-Natil a year ago, her strides were short and she got tired quickly. Now, a run of 10 kilometers takes her just 50 minutes, still a long way off any Olympic or world record, but a huge leap forward for her.

She has, according to her coach, shown great perseverance. She also has enormous belief in her own abilities. Both have allowed her to push herself to do what she might previously have thought impossible.

The youngest of four girls, Inas is fully supported by her sisters. Rana, 22, the sister with whom she shares a bedroom, even on occasion goes along for a run. “We are all very proud of her for doing this,” Rana said.

But her strongest supporter is her father who firmly believes in his daughter’s talent.

“I was convinced when she took first prize at a local competition last year,” Muhammad Nofal, 48, said while showing off his daughter’s medal for winning that 800-meter race.

Nofal, a civil engineer, does not think much of conventions of a conservative society that would discourage girls from being publicly involved in sports and physical exercise generally.

“I think that this is an erroneous stereotype that needs to be changed. I think if there are enough examples of girls wearing the hijab [headscarf] and still excelling at sport this can happen,” he said. “I hope that my daughter can present such an example for girls who would otherwise have been scared of becoming athletes.”

In fact, more girls have started to join Inas when she trains. And she’s pleased friends have joined her in a little group that occasionally runs together.

Obstacles
Meanwhile, the young athlete is focused on improving her CV. In early April, she won another local race, this time over three kilometers. But, at the same time, she was frustrated in her ambition to contest the Palestine Marathon in and around Bethlehem when she was denied an exit permit to attend the West Bank race.

She was not alone. Israeli military authorities refused to allow more than 100 Palestinian athletes from Gaza the permits they needed to take part in the marathon.

“I was extremely frustrated,” said Inas, who had dreamed of a first competition in the West Bank.

But she may have to learn to deal with such frustrations. In 2013, for the first edition of what was then called the Bethlehem marathon, Israel prevented 26 Palestinian runners from Gaza from participating, among them Sanaa Abu Bakhit.

Abu Bakhit was the first female Olympian from Gaza. The 800-meter runner represented Palestine at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games when she was just 19, carrying the Palestinian flag at the opening ceremony.

Since then, however, the Deir al-Baleh-based runner has faced obstacle after obstacle to pursuing her passion.

“It was a great honor for me to participate on behalf of my country,” Abu Bakhit told The Electronic Intifada. “I was hoping to pursue such contests for years, but the sealed crossings and tight Israeli restrictions made it nearly impossible.”

There is also expense to consider. Ideally, athletes train on special tracks and adhere to specific training regimes to guarantee progress. All this entails cost and is complicated by the circumstances in Gaza.

For instance, while Inas uses a treadmill at home, it only works when the power is on, which is sometimes less than eight hours a day.

Al-Natil tries to ensure there is a variety in the training Inas does anyway. When the electricity is off, Inas can do sit-ups and similar exercises instead of the treadmill.

Defying conventions
As she has stepped up her training, Inas is also spending more time pounding the streets and coastline where she lives. This has exposed her to a public sometimes disapproving of the running girl.

It has not, however, deterred the Olympic aspirant who says she will “keep running toward my dream.” And her coach says he is starting to notice a more open attitude toward the idea of female athletes.

Girls are also now getting more official support.

The head of the Palestinian Union for Athletics in Gaza, Nader Halawa, said the union is fully supportive of girls partaking in all kinds of sports.

“We are proud of our girls, and will do everything at our disposal to help them reach international standards by entering them into international competitions,” Halawa asserted.

For now, Inas — who says her role models are former Moroccan hurdler Nawal el-Mutawakel, who took gold in 1984, and Maryam Jamal, the Bahraini 1,500-meter runner who took bronze in London 2012 — has her sights firmly set on Tokyo 2020.

“I will be 19 years old then. And I aim to take gold,” said the ambitious runner. “Why not?”

Source: electronicintifada.net

Associated Press

Taekwondo fighter Ahmad Abughaush has won gold and Jordan’s first-ever Olympic medal.

The 20-year-old wrapped up a surprising day of upsets at the Rio Games by defeating Russia’s Alexey Denisenko in a Thursday night 68-kilogram division final, during which Abughaush landed several jumping head shots that elicited gasps from the audience. Abughaush beat Denisenko 10-6.

Earlier in the day, the 10th-ranked Abughaush knocked out second-seeded Dae-Hoon Lee of South Korea before eliminating Olympic champion Joel Bonilla Gonzalez of Spain, who won the 58-kilogram division at the London Games.

Lee applauded Abughaush’s performance after being beaten by him, raising Abughaush’s arm in victory when he was announced the winner.

The men’s bronze medals were won by Spain’s Joel Bonilla Gonzalez and South Korea’s Lee Dae-hoon.

Source: newyork.cbslocal.com

By Drazen Jorgic Reuters Teenager Ruth Jebet won Bahrain’s first ever Olympic gold medal on Monday, blowing away the competition in the women’s 3,000 meters steeplechase but narrowly missing out on the world record. The 19-year-old stormed into the lead after a few laps and set a blistering pace to win in eight minutes 59.75 … Continued