Women help American football gain popularity in Egypt capital
All-female informal ‘flag football’ league now has eight clubs vying for supremacy in Cairo
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It’s a spectacle that few would imagine in Cairo — an American football field full of Egyptian women.
From humble beginnings in 2016 with only three teams, Egypt’s all-female informal “flag football” league now has eight clubs vying for supremacy in the capital.
For the young women who have taken up the game, it’s a chance to escape the many pressures of city life.
“People think it is a violent sport but it is not. When they came to watch the games, they liked the sport a lot,” says 20-year-old quarterback Yara Tawheed.
“All of us here have problems at university and at home, but as soon as we enter the pitch we forget everything that preoccupies us,” Alia Haytham, 22, a student at Cairo’s American University, says.
The coach of another female team, the adventurously named Hell Hounds, is proud of his players.
“If you see how hard these girls work, I think you would really admire what they put into it,” says 30-year old American Matthew Kershey.
Egypt became a member of the International Federation of American Football in 2014.
The federation is leading a drive to register teams outside Cairo and expects several new clubs to emerge.
But the game “is not new in Egypt, where it was initiated among men in 2007”, Asmaa Marie, a spokeswoman for the Egyptian Federation of American Football, tells AFP.
Marie, who wears a hijab and plays regularly, cites similar motivations to Haytham.
“The game has helped me control my anger and release stress.”
Marie believes that “the game’s popularity in Egypt will surpass that of many team sports, like volleyball and handball”.
“The community in Egypt has grown, and we feel that we all know each other,” she says.