 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 April 2000 Issue No. 476 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 April 2000 Issue No. 476
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Summit Features Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The fairest of them all
By Dalia El-Hennawy
Adding a local title to its regional crown, defending champions Maaden edged host team Semouha 1-0 to be crowned Egypt's best women's football team.
Maaden and Tairan footballers struggle in a league encounter
Semouha, of Alexandria, had to settle for third place behind Tairan. Sinbelawin of Mansoura came fourth, Helwan fifth and Saieda Zeinab sixth in the 11-team league.
The cheers for the home team in the low fan turnout affair failed to push Semouha to greater heights, though the underdog hosts played some entertaining, attacking football. Maaden goalkeeper Sherine Shallaby, Egypt's best, kept Semouha at bay throughout.
Last month, Maaden made Egyptian history by winning the Arab women's football championship in Jordan. "Maaden's victory was one of our great success stories at the club level," Sahar El-Hawary, head of the country's women's football committee, said. Only Morocco tops Egypt at the Arab national team level.
"Even though there were not many Arab sides participating, the competition was tough and the experience we gained was very beneficial to our players, not to mention the recognition the players received throughout the Arab world," El-Hawary said.
El-Hawary was happy with the way the league was coming around in Egypt. "Last season we were only eight teams but this year we became 11 and we expect another increase next season." El-Hawary said the league championship had helped develop the status of the game. "We played around 120 games this season, which helped in accruing more experience for the teams. The technical level has developed and it is a step forward, giving the game better quality."
The October through April tournament, which is being held for the second year running, was officiated by Egypt's top referees, including Gamal El-Ghandour, who was assisted in the final by two female lineswomen -- Mona Mohamed and Hanan Khaled -- raising the number of female referees to 38.
Sherine Abdel-Aziz and Etimad Fawzy, of Semouha, were selected the best players. Shallaby was named best goalkeeper and Marwa Ibrahim the tournament's top scorer.
Though the season has ended, the footballers are readying for the first women's football cup in Egypt in August, to be followed by the Arab women's football championship in 2001 hosted by Libya in January.
