African Cup-An Egyptian Story

I’m not one to watch any matches but if there is any sports that I would watch it’s football, in particular the African Cup and the FIFA. One thing I’ve noticed living here in Egypt is the passion that people have for football and that has something to say when I have lived in two different nations that glorify football. However, I have never seen anything like the passion that Egyptians have for the sport. Any time there is any football match, you will see cafes outside filled out of capacity with people, screaming and beating the drums when their favorite team scores a goal.

The final match of the African Cup was between the legendary two teams, Egypt vs. Cameron. Egypt seem very prominent, scoring the first goal in the first half, however, Cameroon recovered soon after and won the match by scoring 2-1.

What would the match mean if Egypt had won? I really wanted Egypt to win, not only because I live here now but also because the Egyptian people really needed this win. Egypt has been going through a political and economic roller coaster for the past couple of years and people needed a positive demonstration that their country can be great again. Most importunately, the world needed a positive overview of Egypt from what they are used to see in the media. Egypt has suffered tremendously from tourism, you can barely make a business out of what used to be the gold of this country. This was a country that would pride on a famous quote “Egypt the Mother of the World”. However, people are slowly loosing this pride and you can see the stress that it has taken on this society. I wanted the world to know how wonderful Egypt is, to not be afraid to come here and help prosper Egypt to what it was before or even better. The Egyptian people are ready for their country to change, they want “you” to love the country for what it is now, the flaws and for it’s beauty. I beg the world, don’t forget how much Egypt has helped contribute to this world that we take for granted on a daily basis. Don’t just come to see it’s history because it’s present is just as phenomenal, talk to the people, they  are more than happy to engage in universal conversations with “you”.