13 - 19 September 2001
Issue No.551
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 13 - 19 September 2001 Issue No.551 |
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Half-timeAttila returns
Last week in this column Hassan Mustafa, president of the international and Egyptian handball federations, was chastised for paying too much attention to the world scene to the detriment of the sport at home. His absence, if not physically then at least in spirit, on the home front, helped in part produce an eighth- place finish by the junior national team at the recent world championship in Switzerland.
But the old Mustafa has resurfaced, quickly and with a vengeance. No sooner had the Egyptian juniors touched down following their abysmal showing than Mustafa slapped an indefinite ban on the players and coaching staff. No player will venture onto a court either here or abroad until questions are answered and, if necessary, punishment is meted out.
At a press conference, Mustafa announced that a seven-member body from the federation would make a full and complete investigation into how and why the team had taken such a freefall when it was expected to vie for a medal.
He declined to name names, at least for the time being, or point fingers as to who was to blame, saying he would be fair and would wait for the committee's final report before lowering the boom. But impatience got the better of him; he told the players exactly what he thought of them. He met with them and, we are told, even listened to what they had to say, but that's as far as the niceties went. What unfolded later, behind closed doors, few people are sure, but never known to mince words, Mustafa probably registered a seven on the Richter Scale of tirades.
Which is fine. Mustafa is a fighter and his no-nonsense approach to the game has earned him applause plus, we guess, his fair share of enemies. But it has put Egypt on the world handball map. In the over 10 years he has ruled over local handball, the national team has reached No 4 in the world while the juniors of 1993 were world champions.
But his decision to retain his post as president of the Egyptian federation, while at the same time heading the world's governing body in the sport, has been a tactically bad one, at least as far as Egyptian handball is concerned. Without his hands-on approach, the juniors have fallen into an abyss and, judging by some poor performances of late by the seniors, they too might take the same route.
Mustafa had wondered if he could give his undivided attention to both posts. Obviously he cannot.
But he took a bold decision when he suspended all those involved in the fiasco in Switzerland. He is a perfectionist who gets the best out of players and expects no less than 100 per cent effort and results. He is committed and expects similar devotion from everybody associated with the sport. His intervention is too late for now but hopefully in time to head off a similar debacle. We're glad to see he's back in form. Now is the turn of the players.
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