DUBAI // Mohamed bin Hammam knew he would never be good enough to play professionally the game he loved. Growing up in 1950s Qatar, Bin Hammam played football whenever he could – sometimes with friends, sometimes in an amateur team, and sometimes simply in the street, using rocks for goalposts. |
Bin Hammam's presence was always admired more on the terraces than the turf. Most weekends he would brave the harsh humidity of the Middle East to watch his local side, Al Rayyan, compete against the likes of Al Sadd and Al Esteqlal in the Qatari League.