Sport

Topic: Sport

Riyad Mahrez of Algeria scoring against Nigeria in the semi final of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (photo: Getty Images/AFP/J. Soriano)

Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt

Politics casts a long shadow

This evening, Algeria will play Senegal in Cairo International Stadium in the final of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Joseph Hammond takes a look at how the football championship has unfolded for Egypt and its relevance for the country, which was not originally slated to host the competition at allMore

Qantara dossier: Football Egyptian football star Mohammed Aboutreika: Bridging a deep divide Egyptian football: Sun god, star, Mo Salah Moroccoʹs football star Mehdi Benatia: No defence against an own goal Iran at the 2018 FIFA World Cup: Battling on several fronts Marwa Zein's "Khartoum Offside": Football, film and freedom in Sudan

Still from "Khartoum Offside" (photo: Marwa Zein/Berlinale)

Berlinale 2019: Marwa Zein's "Khartoum Offside"

Football, film and freedom in Sudan

Marwa Zein has made an impressive documentary about the Sudanese women's football team, if only the national football association would recognise it as such. The players are neither allowed to represent their country at international level nor set up a domestic women's football league. By Rene WildangelMore

Jafar Panahi's "Offside": Protected from the profanities of the bellowing fans Iran's stadium ban on women: Excluding the people Protests in Sudan: The yellow vests of Khartoum

Egyptian athlete Manal Rostom

Nike's 'hijab survivor'

Egyptian athlete Manal Rostom made waves in 2015, appearing in a Nike advert wearing a hijab. Having run the Berlin Marathon in September she reveals what inspired her to insist that Nike feature Muslim women in its campaigns. By Elizabeth Shoo and Keith WalkerMore

Rostom's "Surviving Hijab" Facebook page Interview with Fereshta Ludin: "The decision for or against the headscarf is wholly a matter for the woman herself"Women's rights in Iran: Farewell compulsory veiling? Time to go with the flow Qantara dossier: The Headscarf Controversy

Still from the film "The 90 Minute War" (photo: Daniel Kedem/GRINGO films GmbH)

Film review: "The 90 Minute War"

A level playing field

A comedy about one of the world's longest-running violent conflicts? Can that work? It certainly can! "The 90 Minute War" uses a soccer match to highlight the issues of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, taking a humorous and sarcastic look at what is actually a deadly serious and ideologically charged debate. By Eva-Maria VerfürthMore

Film review: ''Zaytoun'' by Eran Riklis Interview with film director Samuel Maoz: Israeli "Foxtrot" pulls no punches Film review: "Dancing Arabs" by Eran Riklis

Egyptian football

Sun god, star, Mo Salah

Just weeks before the start of the FIFA World Cup, excitement in Egypt has reached fever pitch. What's causing the mania? The Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, currently tipped as the best football player in the world. By Bachir AmrouneMore

Karim Benzema: The boy next door The integrative power of football: Those who score, get to pray to Allah Qatar vs. UAE: The not-so-beautiful game

The Kurdish football club Amedspor

"Disciplinary measures are unfortunately part of our team identity"

Despite fielding a succession of repressive measures, the Third-League club Amedspor from Diyarbakir is clocking up the sporting victories. For Kurdish fans from Istanbul to Hakkari, the team represents a beacon of hope in difficult times. By Sonja GallerMore

Football fan protests in Turkey and Egypt: Closed ranks The UEFA Cup 2016: The Teutonic preoccupation with race Egyptian football star Mohammed Aboutreika: Bridging a deep divide Muslim Sportswomen on the Rise: An Inspiration to Young Women around the World

Still from ″Gaza Surf Club″ (source: picture-alliance/dpa)

″Gaza Surf Club″ – a film documentary

Cresting the wave

In the occupied Gaza Strip, young Palestinians get a taste of the freedom they lack through surf. Jochen Kurten met German director Philip Gnadt and producer Mickey Yamine to discuss their documentary "Gaza Surf Club"More

Karama-Gaza Human Rights Film Festival: Roll out the red carpet!"The Blue Between Sky and Water" by Susan Abulhawa: Love and suffering in Gaza Jenin's Freedom Theatre celebrates 10 years: What′s next for ″cultural resistance″?

Acclaimed illustrator and graphic novel author Reinhard Kleist (photo: picture-alliance/photoshot)

The first German graphic novel in Arabic

Sketches with global appeal

How does one go about telling a story as dramatically tragic as that of the young Somali sportswoman who lost her life attempting to cross the Mediterranean in a refugee boat? And can such a story be told by a writer best known for graphic novels, comic books for adults? By Manfred EwelMore

Book review: Giuseppe Catozzella’s ″Don′t tell me you′re afraid″: The flame of Olympia Egypt's people-smuggling mafia: Where crossings cost but lives are cheap Migration pact with Africa: The EU′s paper tiger

Saudi women waiting to be picked up by their drivers (photo: Getty Images/AFP/F. Nureldine)

Saudi health reforms and women′s rights

Still a sore point

A Saudi decision to license the kingdom′s first women-only gyms over the coming weeks constitutes progress in a country in which women′s rights are severely curtailed. Yet it also reveals the limitations of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman′s plan to rationalise and diversify the kingdom′s economy. By James M. DorseyMore

Women's rights in the Arab World: Are Saudi women next?Woman in Saudi Arabia: ''A golden age for Saudi women''Cultural policy in Saudi Arabia: Ushering in an era of change?Women in Saudi Arabia: Breaking barriers

The Iranian women′s rights activist Darya Safai protests against the stadium ban in her homeland (photo: Darya Safai)

Iran's stadium ban on women

Excluding the people

Iranian women′s rights activist Darya Safai fights the stadium ban for Iranian women from her exile in Brussels. An interview on her protest during the Olympic Games in Rio, the hypocrisy of international sports organisations and Ali Khamenei′s unreformable regime. By Kai SchnierMore

Women′s rights in Iran: "Now it's the men's turn"The Documentary Film ''In the Bazaar of Sexes'': Temporary Marriage in Iran Family policy in Iran: Children for the revolution 50 years of women's voting rights in Iran

Italian author Giuseppe Catozzella (photo: private)

Book review: Giuseppe Catozzella’s ″Don′t tell me you′re afraid″

The flame of Olympia

″Don′t tell me you′re afraid″ is a heartbreaking and remarkable book about a young woman, like every other refugee, who deserved a better fate. Catozzella not only tells the story of Samia Yusuf Omar, but in the process brings the experiences of every refugee to life. Richard Marcus read the bookMore

Album review: ″Abbar el Hamada″ by Aziza Brahim: The agony of dispossession Album review: "Kirike" by Kasse Mady Diabate: "Understanding is what we wish for: to live in peace"The case of Somalia: Pirates, warlords, and Islamists Migration pact with Africa: The EU′s paper tiger

Aktion Zeig Rassismus die rote Karte, Foto: picture-alliance/dpa/Fredrik von Erichsen

The UEFA Cup 2016

The Teutonic preoccupation with race

For the UEFA Cup in France, the German national football team bus has been emblazoned with the slogan "Vive la Mannschaft" or "Vive la team". At the same time, members of this team suffer public racist abuse. By Rene WildangelMore

Football as a force for integration: Success through diversity Qantara dossier: "Football and integration"Mesut Ozil: The polite boy with the faux-hawk

Egyptian Al Ahly football supporter (photo: picture-alliance/AP)

Football fan protests in Turkey and Egypt

Closed ranks

Battles for control of stadiums and other public spaces in Turkey and Egypt have pitched militant football fans against authoritarian leaders. By James DorseyMore

Egyptian football stadium deaths: Black day for the "White Knights"The Port Said football tragedy: Violence was not accidental Egyptian football star Mohammed Aboutreika: Bridging a deep divide

Mohammed Aboutreika cheering after a goal during the Super Cup in 2010 (photo: Khaled Desouki/afp/Getty Images)

Egyptian football star Mohammed Aboutreika

Bridging a deep divide

Few are able to bridge Egypt's deeply polarising divide between supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood following the 2013 military coup that toppled President Mohammed Morsi. Mohammed Aboutreika, Egypt's most celebrated and storied soccer player, is proving to be either the exception that proves the rule or an indication of shifting attitudes. By James M. DorseyMore

Palestinian FA to Press for Fifa Ban on Israel Egyptian soccer stadium deaths: Black day for the "White Knights"The Port Said soccer tragedy: Violence was not accidental

A masked man during the football riots in Cairo, 8 February 2015 (photo: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Egyptian soccer stadium deaths

Black day for the "White Knights"

Three years after the Port Said catastrophe, Egyptian soccer has again been hit by tragedy. At least 22 fans were killed in a stampede and clashes with police outside a stadium in the capital on Sunday, 8 February. Background details from Karim El-Gawhary in CairoMore

Court rulings in Egypt's soccer stadium riots: The underhand role of the police The Port Said soccer tragedy: Violence was not accidental Soccer ultras and national protest in Egypt: Demands for civilian rule

German footballers Lukas Podolski (l.), Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira and Per Mertesacker. Photo: picture-alliance/augenklick/firo Sportphoto

Soccer as a force for integration

Success through diversity

Mesut Özil and his team colleagues not only represent multicultural Germany: they also serve as popular role models within German society. This shows that football should be afforded greater recognition as a force for integration, says Shohreh KarimianMore

Dossier: FIFA World Cup 2014 Mesut Özil: A football hero in a national identity farce Football in Germany: Football can contribute to integration

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