On June 21, 2016, the Egyptian Al-Watan daily published an article billed as an exclusive exposé warning of a conspiracy hatched by Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood to undermine Egypt's soccer teams. The report alleged that Qatar, which will be the host country of the 2022 World Cup, has been offering inducements to young Egyptian players to accept Qatari citizenship so as to be eligible for the Qatari national team, with the aim of hobbling Egyptian soccer by stealing its most talented youth. The report was accompanied by two additional articles, published the same day and the next, containing responses from the Egyptian Football Association and other figures in the soccer world.
The Qatari national team, described by Al-Watan as "filled with naturalized foreigners." (Source: Al-Watan, Egypt, June 21, 2016)
Relations between Egypt and Qatar have long been antagonistic, primarily due to the latter's support for the Muslim Brotherhood and the stance of Al-Jazeera TV toward the regime in Egypt. These tensions flared up recently when an Egyptian court sentenced deposed President Muhammad Mursi to prison and condemned two Al-Jazeera employees to death for their alleged role in leaking state secrets to Qatar and to the satellite news channel.[1] The court's ruling drew a sharp rebuke from the Qatari foreign ministry.[2]
The following are excerpts from Al-Watan's reports on the conspiracy against Egyptian soccer:
"The Qatar-Brotherhood Plot Has Turned To The Field Of Sports, In A Grand Joint Conspiracy Whose Aim Is To Destroy An Important And Vital Field"
"The operations carried out by Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood against Egypt have not, and will never, cease. The plot led and funded by the little statelet [i.e. Qatar] is still ongoing and passes from sector to sector inside the Egyptian state. [The Qataris] do the thinking, the plotting, and the funding, and the traitors in the banned organization [i.e. the Muslim Brotherhood] carry out [these plots].
"Recently, the Qatar-Brotherhood plot has turned to the field of sports, in a grand joint conspiracy whose aim is to destroy an important and vital field [i.e. Egyptian soccer] that, against all odds, has been doing well. The conspiracy that is currently taking shape... is led by the Qatar [Football] Association, which is organizing the 2022 World Cup, together with the aid of their agents, former Egyptian players who act as brokers, current youth league coaches, and various soccer academies in Egypt, in addition to a sports agent known to belong to the Muslim Brotherhood...[3]
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"The aim of this is to eviscerate Egyptian [soccer] talents and to destroy them. According to the documents and information attained by Al-Watan, all of the aforementioned have already begun to put into action their wicked plot to smuggle a large group of talented young players, chosen with great care and using the latest in information [technology], to the statelet of Qatar. There they would be naturalized, so as to allow them to take part in the national team in the coming years. [This is taking place] under the noses of the Egyptian authorities in the Ministry of Sport and the Football Association..."
The report goes on to state that the "Qatar-Brotherhood lobby" has already made contact with the families of young Egyptian players in leading teams (presumably their youth teams), such as Al-Ahly, Zamalek, and ENPPI, giving the names and birthdates of players allegedly contacted. The article then claims that agents working for Qatar have opened negotiations with a large number of Egyptian youth team players abroad, players for such teams as Athletico Madrid, Utrecht, Istanbul BB, Copenhagen, the Portuguese Gil Vicente, Lierse SK in Belgium, and many others.
Sheikha Mozah, mother of the
Emir of Qatar, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup Bid (source: Al-Watan, Egypt,
June 22, 2016)
The Egyptian Football Association: Any Player Who Agrees To Play In A Country That Is Hostile to Egypt Has Betrayed The Game And His Country
In response to the exposé, the Egyptian Football Association acknowledged that some agents were negotiating aggressively to snatch up Egyptian players and take them to Qatar. In addition, Al-Watan characterized the Association's response as stating that any player who agrees to play in a country that is hostile to Egypt and works against its best interests has betrayed the game and his country. The Association emphasized that naturalization for purposes of playing in another country is permitted according to the regulations, but it advocated the criminalization of doing so in Qatar, Turkey, or "any country that is hostile to Egypt, so long as they strive to demolish and destroy Egypt." The Association said that it would take the matter up with Minister of Youth and Sports Khaled 'Abd Al-'Aziz.
The report included a copy of a letter dated 2012 from the El-Gamarek team in Port Said to the Egyptian Football Association emphasizing that it wishes to keep its rights to one of its youth players, 'Abd Al-Rahman Muhammad Fahmi Mustafa, who had "fled" to Qatar during the 2011-2012 soccer season. [4]
The letter from the El-Gamarek
team to the Egyptian Football Association
In a follow-up article the next day, Al-Watan reported that the Qatari plot had led some soccer teams in Egypt to adopt various measures to prevent their young talent from leaving, such as signing them to contracts and holding on to their passports for safekeeping. Magdi 'Umran, the father of an ENPPI youth team player who was offered Qatari citizenship, was quoted as calling on Egyptian President 'Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi to intervene personally in order to confront the "traitors and conspirators against Egypt."[5]
Endnotes:
[1] Al-Ahram (Egypt), June 19, 2016. It should be mentioned that in 2015 an Egyptian court already sentenced Mursi to death on other charges.
[2] rassd.com, June 19, 2016.
[3] This is presumably a reference to Tamer Al-Nahhas, who was a vocal support of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and has been known to make the four-fingered Muslim Brotherhood 'Rabi'a' sign at public events.
[4] Al-Watan (Egypt), June 21, 2016.
[5] Al-Watan (Egypt), June 22, 2016.
