A football café in Egypt

By Abeer Anwar

You can't fail to catch the big signpost to the Football Café on Tairan Street, Nasr City. It's a unique place. You could even, for a moment, think you are in France.

The floor of the café looks like a football pitch. All the tables are covered with the flags of the different countries taking part in this year's World Cup finals. Big posters of soccer stars such as Ronaldo, Diego Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta hang on the walls, while the shisha comes with the red and blue of the French flag. The waiters and waitresses are clad in sports gear.

In one corner of the café, patrons gather around a big television screen to watch the matches live from France. The owner of the café, Soheil Tourki, a Jordanian, says he was inspired by the great love of football in Egypt. "I wanted to make something like the All-Star Cafes in America where sports stars such as [Andre] Agassi and Michael Jordan sit in a café and chat with customers," he says. "But because Egyptians are only infatuated with soccer, I thought of a football café, especially since it is a new trend in Egypt."

Tourki says the Brazil-Morocco match attracted 100 people, the biggest crowd since the café was opened on the second day of the World Cup.

"I enjoy watching the matches in this café," says client Hossam Ahmed, 21. "The atmosphere gives you the feeling that you are in France."

After the World Cup, the café will show the European championship matches and tennis and basketball tournaments.

"We have a site on the internet where I am going to put the results of the top world tournaments," Tourki says. If you want to check it out, go to: http://www.football.eg.

"I will also try to invite Egyptian football stars such as Hossam Hassan to the café," Tourki adds. "I could not invite them during the World Cup, because all the national players are on a three-week holiday."

One more innovation: the drinks and the tables will all bear the names of top soccer stars.

(photo: Yussri Aql)