The Power Of Football

Ahmed Hashem, Qatar

Ahmed Hashem is an Accommodation Manager for Engie Cofely Mannai, originally from Egypt. As part of the GOALS program, Ahmed tells the story of his football journey, his support for Egypt and Al-Ahly, and his hopes for the first World Cup hosted by an Arabic country.

What made me fall in love with football? The Brazilian football team. It started with the World Cup in 1994, where they won match after match. I love to watch their matches, and they have the best players with top-quality skills.

I started playing football when I was 12 years old. My father could see that I loved football so much that he signed me up to the nearest football academy to our home.

I was the fastest in my team and the coach always put me on the right wing because of that. I always played well, but I did not like it because I wanted to score goals!

It was an excellent start to learning football skills and I have been playing ever since. Football made me strong, healthy, and taught me new skills. I feel happiest when playing football; it is a huge part of my life.

I am a big fan and proud supporter of the top football team in Egypt, Al-Ahly, the “African Club of the Century”. There is no other team in Africa or in Arab countries that has reached our level. Only Real Madrid (26) has won more continental championships than Al-Ahly (23).

One of my happiest moments was when our academy was invited to visit and play against the Al-Ahly academy. It was a dream, even though we lost the match.

The club teaches every generation that respect comes before anything else. Principles are first and foremost. Respect is so important because with respect comes so many other positive things. A person who respects everyone becomes an example to those around him.

When I watch Al-Ahly play I feel a huge range of emotions – I feel nervous, excited, angry (if we lose) and happy (if we win!). We are famous for winning in the last second of matches.

When the Egyptian national football team won the Africa Cup of Nations three times in a row (2006-2010) we had a perfect team. These victories made every Egyptian so proud to have a team at the top level. I hope we get the chance to bring that success back again soon.

My favorite football player is Mo Salah. I am so proud that one of the best players in the world is Egyptian. He is skillful, solid, and most importantly, he is so kind. This is what we should teach the next generation and Mo Salah is a great example for us.

People always need someone inspiring to follow. Salah came from a normal family in Egypt. When he became a star, he never changed. He helps so many poor families in Egypt.

I have never seen him play live, but if I am lucky, I will have a selfie with him or get his autograph one day.

After I finished high school in 1999 l I decided to change my life by taking responsibility for my future and my family. I grew up in a poor family, so I wanted to change our lives for the better.

At 19 years old, I travelled for the first time. I went to Libya to start my new journey. It was so hard at the beginning, as it was my first time away from my family. I did so many jobs, but all I was thinking about was to keep fighting to succeed.

I built my own business, but Libyan rules meant I had to find a partner who was a citizen. Year after year the business was growing, my life changed for the better, and finally it felt that I had achieved my goal to improve the lives of my family.

I stayed in Libya until February 2011, when the revolution started. It was dangerous to stay, so I decided to travel back to Egypt. I left everything I had - my business, my house, my car, and my money. The plan was to go back when the country returned to normal, but sadly that did not happen as things got worse.

I contacted my partner to see how I could get my money back but he started to ignore me until I got tired of trying. I had to start over once again and here I am in Qatar. This has been my next journey for almost 9 years, trying to get back what I had before.

It makes me so proud that I did not give up and I did not let what happened affect me forever.

I came to Qatar to find better opportunities for work - I am currently an Accommodation Manager. When I first arrived in Qatar in November 2012, it felt like home; people were friendly and willing to help.

I immediately felt like I was where I belonged. People were so generous. Everyone who moves to a new country needs to feel welcome and not alone.

Through football, I have met so many friends of so many nationalities. I have friends from Tunisia, Ghana, Jordan, and of course, so many Egyptians!

Through football you play with people you would never meet otherwise. You make friends from different places and different cultures. This is the power of football.

I have a Ghanaian friend called Abraham; we first met on the field when our teams played each other. My team won 1-0; it was a challenging game, because both teams were almost equal in every way. In the last few minutes Abraham was about to score a goal - I ran as fast as I could and stopped him just before he shot. It was a semi-final and we won the final too.

Now, we are coworkers in the same company, and I always remind him about our first game.

In Qatar, I first got involved with football through friends, and then as a group we would play against other teams. Before COVID-19, our company Engie Cofely Mannai had a company sports day tournament in 2019. I played as a striker, we won the tournament, and I scored two goals. Scoring goals is a sweet taste. It always makes me happy to score goals to help my team win.

The way I play on the field is only thinking about how to help my team to win. This is how I live my life; I do my best to be good and reach my goal. I do not always reach my goals, but I keep trying.

2022 is an exciting year. I am happy to live in Qatar, the country that will host the FIFA World Cup. People here have always loved football, and football culture in Qatar keeps growing – primarily since the World Cup was awarded.

I am so happy that I will get to see a World Cup live at least once in my life. I am so proud; an Arab country hosting the World Cup is something that all Arab countries can be proud of.

This is the first time and hopefully it will not be the last. As Arab nations we must support each other and be proud of each other like family. This also shows the world that Arab countries have the power and the quality to host the biggest event in the world.

The world will see the real culture of our countries not only on TV. They can see who we really are.

In most movies I watch, they show Arab countries in a totally different way than the reality. Some friends of mine think that Egypt is only pyramids, camels, and people wearing long dresses with head coverings.

This is a great chance for Qatar to show Arabic culture to the world. Qatar is working very hard to make the World Cup unforgettable.

Hopefully, one day Egypt can host the World Cup too.