12 - 18 July 2001
Issue No.542
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 12 - 18 July 2001 Issue No.542 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Half-time
Let's keep it together
Egypt has something, in fact two things, to celebrate. The military soccer team knocked out six-time champion Greece to win the World Cup while the under-20 footballers took third place, an unprecedented feat on a global scale, in the World Youth Cup in Argentina.
The armed forces deserve special praise and not just for their performance on the field. The entire event was superbly organised. Everything went like clockwork. A truly professional job, refreshingly unlike the chaos and mismanagement which prevailed in several recent matches organised -- not the most suitable verb -- by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA). The EFA, which is reportedly preparing to bid for the 2010 World Cup, could learn a few things from the military. Actually, if Egypt is awarded the World Cup, it would be wise if the EFA gave the men in uniform a major role in the planning aspects.
Awards and rewards await the teenagers for their exemplary showing in the youth cup but the question is: what after the shower of praise and cash? Will the players stick together to provide the nucleus for a successful senior team? The history of Egypt's youth football squads gives a loud 'no' as the answer
In 1995, a group of Egyptian youngsters won the All-Africa Games football gold medal. Several calls immediately followed for the players to remain together instead of disbanding. But that is precisely what happened. The side dispersed as the players went their own separate ways. Never again did they play as a unit which prevented many of them from realising any sort of potential.
Again, the under-17 squad which qualified for the quarter-finals of the 1997 World Cup, should have been the same players representing Egypt in Argentina. That a fresh group of players did well is fine but that's not the point. Whatever happened to that close-knit team of 1997? The answer is that it is not close-knit any longer, its players never again sharing one field following that eventful year.
The job of any youth team in any sport is not just to play the role of factory churning out future prospects, piece by piece, for the big teams. It would be more beneficial if a successful group of youngsters could play and grow up together for a reasonable number of years to one day represent their country as one whole. Had Egypt been practising such a policy, its senior team, which is in serious danger of failing to make the World Cup, might not be in such a precarious position.
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