| MANAUS // This Saturday will mark the start of the World Cup knockout stages. It will also, for millions of Muslims around the world, mark their final unrestricted day before the start of the holy month of Ramadan, in which abstinence from food and liquids during daylight hours is mandatory. With six of the 32 national teams competing in Brazil coming from countries with a substantial Islamic presence – and three being drawn together in Group F – it is inevitable that teams with Muslim players will be involved in the tournament’s latter stages. It is the first time for 28 years that Ramadan has overlapped with a World Cup. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Algeria, Cameroon, Iran, Ivory Coast and Nigeria all have large Muslim populations, while the likes of France, Switzerland and Germany also have players of Islamic faith. Players such as Edin Dzeko, Mesut Ozil, Yaya Toure and Karim Benzema will have to decide whether to fast during daylight hours or postpone until their country’s tournament is over. In Brazil, such are the hours of daylight, fasting would equate to about 13-and-a-half hours without food or liquids. To continue reading, click here. |
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NOTE: In light of recent allegations surrounding Qatar's bid for the 2022 World Cup, ISWAS revisits a candid interview with Mohamed Bin Hammam from 2009. The Qatari was the president of the Asian Football Confederation, as well as being close allies with Fifa president Sepp Blatter. In July 2011, he was banned from football for life.
"I played as centre forward, but really I was just pretending to play," he reveals exclusively to Emirates Business. "I played that position until I was 16 or 17, but always without any skill – of that I can assure you."
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.
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Gary MeenaghanSports scribbler. Pedant with prose. Alliteration addict. Omnivore. Archives
June 2015
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