By Mareb Al-ward
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| A large audience attends a match on a dirt court in Badaun in Ibb |
Perhaps، if you asked a child or young man living in the Yemeni countryside what your dreams are, he would answer you that one of them is to be a football player, even though he may not know how to achieve his dream and whether he can become a star just like his local or international role model.
The countryside includes about 70 percent of the country's population, and this means a high percentage of children and youth who see football as their opportunity for entertainment in light of their areas' lack of parks, gardens, and clubs that contain them, develop their abilities, and help them achieve their dreams.
The beginning of the relationship between children and football in Yemen may be similar to any other, given that it is one of the first games they get from their parents due to its cheap price.
It is the thing they watch most on television, such as cartoon series.
However, the difference arises with the passage of time and according to what other options are available. Means of entertainment and leisure, are all linked to the level of economic, social and cultural life.
Ball is an intimate friend
Among these differences, as in the case of Yemen, is the lack rural residents mostly face specifically in basic services such as adequate primary schools as well as the following stages, which accommodate them instead of being deprived of education or obtaining it in inappropriate places such as sitting under trees, not to mention the scarcity of health centers that give them appropriate care.
This means that for Yemeni children who do not have a safe childhood, football will be their constant passion that accompanies them and is part of their socialization regardless of what it may bring them in the future.
In the past as well as the present, as soon as a child reaches about four years of age, he finds in front of him a football among other simple games. This ball may be in the form of a balloon filled with air, bringing him entertainment, and thus it grows with him. He sees it in the street and in the neighborhood with the older children as they play and he watches it on television and on videos on his parents' phones or smart devices.
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| Great scene of a popular match in rural Yemen (archive) |
This relationship is strengthened when the child joins the school, where leagues are organized between the different classes, and he begins to learn about the details of football, such as team divisions, the number of players allowed, simple tactics, the names that are chosen for each team, and how the match is managed by a person called the referee.
What could a poor child, as is the case in rural Yemen, have more than a cheap ball and a bicycle for entertainment, which are available and which his parents can bring? The ball simulates innate desires such as victory, control, fame, joy, etc.
The ball seems like a close friend to the child who accompanies him, plays with him, and makes him laugh at any time and place, inside the room, on the bed, in the courtyard of the house, in the street, at school, and on television. The more time passes on, the more he becomes attached to it and learns about its world through Internet. This has become easy today with Owning telephones and the spreading Internet in the countryside, albeit of low quality.
As the child reaches adolescence and young adulthood, football is what helps him most to spend his time and develop his skills, because other options, including continuing education without them, bring challenges and difficulties, such as securing housing and expenses for those who will study in a city. This in itself constitutes a burden for poor families, and even for those who are fortunate in their circumstances. They don't leave the ball.
This was the case even before the spread of televisions that broadcast matches and later phones that have allowed anyone to follow the sites of football and matches and thus know everything related to the celebrities of the game, who were served by television broadcasts and social networking sites more than previous generations.
A Challenging Dream
Like any rural young man in Yemen, Khaled Ali, 16 years old, feels he can imitate the skills of his favorite star, Cristiano Ronaldo, including the way he celebrates scoring goals.
Here he describes his feeling in following his role model in football more than he points out that he possesses the same skills as him. .
Khaled's relationship with football began when he was a six-year-old child, when he was watching the famous cartoon series "Captain Majid." Then it was strengthened when he obtained a ball that his father bought for him, and over time it became his most important hobby.
Khaled, who lives in the countryside of Mikhlaf Ammar in Al-Radma District in Ibb Governorate, believes that his skills make him a striker, despite the fact that “my friends say that I am a playmaker and am good at this position based on their evaluation of me in matches,” says the player, who is attracted by nicknames such as “the magician” and “the sniper”.
Khaled hopes to complete secondary education and move to live in cities, specifically the capital, Sana’a, because, as he says, “it is full of great clubs, and I can achieve my dream of joining any club while continuing my university studies”.
The passion of rural children and youth for football stems from the fact that it is the thing that gives them the most entertainment and it can provide an opportunity to change their lives by joining the teams of small age groups, such as the youth team, which provides good achievements that bring joy to the public and serve as a starting point for the players to become professional internally or externally.
But the opportunity for these rural people is only possible if they move to live in the cities where the clubs are located and the national team coaches can discover them and watch them closely.
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| A dirt court in Yafea |
Otherwise, their football talent may end at the limits of entertainment because the countryside is invisible to scouts and does not receive the attention of the country’s football officials
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One of these talents, Hamza Mahrous, who began his career as a footballer in his village in the western Yemen governorate of Hodeidah, dreamed of becoming a famous player and only realized his dream after moving to the city of Taizz, where there are strong clubs and stadiums and there he joined the Al-Ahli and Taliaa clubs and achieved many titles.
While he was working in the morning at a restaurant to provide a living for his displaced family, he was training and playing in the afternoon at clubs and there he was discovered by a coach and recommended to be included in the Yemeni junior team and then moved to the top teams and today he became a professional player and his life is better.
It is true that there are dozens of country clubs, some of which may have simple headquarters, but they still lack playgrounds, supplies, and support to organize ongoing activities.
because of this, they are unable to accommodate children and youth.
These clubs are also located on the outskirts of cities, and few of them are officially recognized.
What makes football a popular game is that it is simple and anyone can play it alone or with others anywhere once they have a ball. This is why playing football is common in the countryside at different seasons of the year and occasionally.
noticeable development
This practice is usually called popular football or amateur football, and its courts are neighborhoods, streets, schoolyards, public places, and clay courts. However, it is developing at all levels compared to the past.
Tangible development can be seen in organizing the leagues professionally by dividing the participants, whether players or clubs, in the manner of official leagues, including requiring the participating teams to wear agreed-upon sports uniforms, in addition to using referees who hold professional certificates. There's some kind of innovation in the prizes offered, which It may be at the expense of a merchant, an expatriate, or popular donations.
At the level of rules, they are almost identical to the official rules practiced in local competitions, such as penalties, procedures for dealing with various situations, and oversight of matches and referees.
These rural competitions were not affected by the ongoing war in the country; On the contrary, it spread more in the governorates and was a haven for young people and children to create joy and enjoy their time.
Thanks to the spread of phones and the Internet, it has become possible to broadcast matches on social media platforms, albeit to a limited extent. This is also the case for documenting beautiful shots, such as scoring goals or displaying distinguished skills, which are circulated on social platforms such as Facebook, X, Tik Tok, and YouTube.
You can watch videos of football stadiums with a dirt floor, their white borders drawn with “gypsum plaster”, and without chairs or stands around them, yet fans attend them, sitting on the ground, or spending time standing and moving around.
This can be seen in the example of a large mass presence in the countryside of Badaun district in Ibb governorate.
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| A large mass presence in Badaun |
Incredible talents
National coach Ahmed Ali Qasim, who has trained many local clubs and national teams and is considered one of the most prominent discoverers of stars and talents, says, “There is a great passion and love for the game of football in the Yemeni countryside, which is full of incredible talents and even the presence of fans and great competition between villages and districts”.
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| coach Ahmed Ali Qasim |
"If there was interest from the state by establishing training centers in the countryside and organizing competitions on a regular basis as well as some kind of Going out on the field by talent scouts to choose those suitable for the final versions of teams , encouraging them and paying attention to them , there will certainly be a major breakthrough that will develop our sport".
he talked to me in a private interview
But the coach with a successful record believes that achieving this depends only on “the presence of a state and administrative and training expertise of those with specializations in the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and not like what exists now, the Ministry of those in charge. They have nothing to do with sports.” he pessimistically describes them.
In addition to the ideas provided by the coach, one option that can be worked out in the light of the continuing war and the collapse of the state is to launch youth initiatives to form associations in the countryside to explore and market talents there and posting their images and videos of their skills in social media and thus drawing the attention of clubs, scouts and coaches to these talents, which helps them to have opportunities and achieve their dreams.
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