Arab all-stars

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The Chelsea eleven and the Arab all-stars

By Yasmine El-Rashidi

It is the stuff dreams are made of. A Chelsea eleven playing an Arab selection. Last month in Dubai, in an event created by Jordanian Princess Haya Bint Al-Hussein and Egypt's Sahara El-Hawwari, the dream became a reality when the Chelsea Ladies jetted in to take on the first Arab women's team. The Arab all-star team was the brainchild of Hawwari, and the event itself is expected to have far- reaching consequences.

From Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Jordan, the best female footballers from the Arab world travelled to Dubai to play in the historic match last month. And if anyone in the crowd anticipated that the fixture, forming part of the entertainment surrounding the Dubai shopping festival, would turn out to be a mismatch, they were in for a pleasant surprise as within four minutes the Arab Select team had taken the lead through Lamya Bu Mahdi. The Moroccan ran onto a cross from fellow North African, Algeria's Naeema Al-Awadi, to thunder a header home to the delight of an appreciative audience gathered at the Dubai Police Officers Club. Rocked but briefly, Chelsea hit back three minutes later when another Algerian, Sabreya Al-Hoom, deflected the ball into her own net.

High up in the stands, Princess Haya, a keen sportswoman herself, applauded these exciting opening exchanges as heartily as any in the crowd. The girls, boys, women and men in attendance as well as millions more watching around the world on television, were transfixed as the Arab side began to dominate proceedings. Amani Abdel-Aal missed a golden opportunity when she struck her penalty wide, but five minutes later, just past the hour mark, she set up Egypt's Dina Abdel- Halim to score past Holly Braid and give the Arab Select a second lead. This time, though, the advantage lasted just two minutes longer as a lapse in defence allowed Nina Downham to steal into the penalty area and plant a header home to make it 2-2.

A frantic finale could not produce a winning goal and so it was left to the dreaded penalties to separate the two sides. Chelsea, who had recently been knocked out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest on penalties, this time proved practice makes perfect as they found the net and saw goalkeeper Braid make a save to give the English team a 5-4 victory.

Despite the disappointment among the Arab players, there were winners all-round. Princess Haya, half-sister of King Abdallah II of Jordan and daughter of the late King Hussein, congratulated all participants, and expressed her hope that this special football day be repeated soon in other Arab countries. She also gave special thanks to Egypt's El-Hawwari, whom she credited for bringing women's soccer to the Arab world.