Month: July 2023

MOROCCAN Women are making World Cup History – and it’s not just the players

Rise of national team matched by that of country’s female referees.

When the Moroccan national women’s football team next takes to the pitch, their feat will be recorded for ever in the history books.

The Atlas Lionesses play Germany in Australia on July 24, becoming the first Arab nation to play in the Fifa Women’s World Cup.

But it is not just the players who are changing the future of the sport.

The rise of the Moroccan women’s team goes hand in hand with the successes of the country’s female referees, who have made huge strides in breaking the long male monopoly on football officiating.

Three female Moroccan football referees, Bouchra Karboubi, Fatiha Jermoumi and Soukaina Hamdi, have been appointed by Fifa, the sport’s world governing body, to referee at the Women’s World Cup, which kicks off on Thursday in Australia and New Zealand.

Aside from Palestinian Heba Saadieh, the women are the only female Arab football officials at the tournament.

“Morocco’s female football teams have witnessed a significant growth in recent years, in terms of numbers, age categories and locations, which [created the need for] qualifying female referees to officiate their games, and hence creating opportunities for those with great potential in that field,” said Brahim Chokhmane, sports editor at Tunisian newspaper Le Matin.

Mr Chokhmane pointed to a growing trend in the region to try to close the gender gap in sports — and in football in particular.

He said the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (RMFF) has begun to follow the trend.

In June, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said clubs wanting to participate in the 2023-2024 Champions League and Confederation Cup competitions must have women’s professional teams.

Last year’s African Cup of Nations was the first time the tournament put out an all-female line-up of match officials – among them Morocco’s Jermoumi and Karboubi.

Women refereeing men’s matches

Women in Morocco have never been closer to equality with their male counterparts on the football pitch.

In March 2023, the federation appointed the first female coach in North Africa to train a men’s football team.

Last year, it appointed Karboubi to be the first woman in the Arab world to officiate a final of a men’s professional competition. Jermoumi was a first assistant at the country’s most prestigious football tournament, the Moroccan Throne Cup.

In 2020, the RMFF launched several football tournaments for women footballers and set a target of 90,000 amateur female players.

The moves have inspired more women to play – and referee – football.

Zakia El Grini, 33, who earned her Fifa badge as a football referee in 2022, said: “More Moroccan women feel confident nowadays to train, and work, as football referees, thanks to those who pioneered in the field and paved the way for others, and to the increasing number of female footballers.”

Less than two decades ago, there were fewer than 15 locally accredited Moroccan female football referees.

There are now eight internationally accredited female referees and more than 120 locally licensed ones.

Hafsa Ayab, 15, a student at the refereeing school for the Chaouia Doukkala Regional Football League, in the west of Morocco, told The National that she sees Karboubi as a role model and dreams of reaching the same success.

“I was not a fan of football itself as a game, but have found my passion in refereeing,” she said. “I am lucky to be able to pursue this dream.”

As the number of Moroccan players increase significantly, Moroccan referee Soukaina Hdia, 32, said more women will be encouraged to take part.

“And it will continue to increase, especially as more Moroccan women partake in global events,” she said. “It will encourage more females to do the same. I recall how, in 2009, I was the only female football referee in the Chaouia Doukkala region, but now there are dozens”.

‘Bullying doesn’t stop’

The pursuit of a refereeing career for women is not an easy one, Hdia said.

“I have been in this profession since 2009, and the bullying doesn’t stop, especially during interviews, or from the audience. I did grow immune to negative comments, though.”

Karboubi too has been the target of harassment and bullying.

After officiating Morocco’s Throne Cup’s final last year, images of the referee side by side with pictures of a kitchen went viral on social media, as some football fans took umbrage at Karboubi’s decision to show a yellow card to one player.

Ranked 136 of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index, Morocco’s women live lives strongly determined by deeply ingrained gender roles.

“The bullying is sometimes worse against female referees with headscarves, like what happened to me,” said El Grini, who officiated the kingdom’s Throne Cup this year.

“But the main obstacle preventing many Moroccan women from pursuing football refereeing as a career is the family. Many still view refereeing as meant only for men, but the truth of the matter is that sports and refereeing are open to all,” she said.

This story is published in collaboration with Egab.

source/content: thenationalnews.com (headline edited)

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Moroccan referee Bouchra Karboubi duuring a match between AS Far and Moghreb Atletico Tetouan in Agadir last year. AFP

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MOROCCO

GCC – Central Asia Summit, Jeddah, July 19th 2023

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed on Wednesday the heads of delegations participating in a summit of Gulf Cooperation Council and Central Asian countries.

Participants in the Jeddah summit include the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

From the GCC side, the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Crown Prince of Kuwait Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Vice President of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid are attending.

Oman and Bahrain’s rulers are being represented by Sayyid Asaad bin Tariq Al-Said and Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa respectively.

Sheikh Nasser praised the active role played by the Kingdom in enhancing cooperation and coordination among GCC countries and consolidating friendship and joint cooperation with other countries.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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SAUDI ARABIA / GCC STATES

SUDAN: Google Doodle celebrates Sudanese Composer and Oud player Asma Hamza

Google search engine features late Sudanese musician Asma Hamza celebrating anniversary of her winning the Laylat AlQadr AlKubra music competition in Sudan.

According to Google’s description on 17 July, “On this day in 1997, Asma was among the winners of the Laylat AlQadr AlKubra music competition in Sudan. This win was a turning point in her career and helped her gain recognition in a male-dominated field.”

Considered the first female composer in Sudan, Hamza was born in 1932 and loved music while growing up, dreaming of becoming a singer. However, her vocal cords were not equipped to handle singing safely, so she switched to whistling the tunes instead. When her father heard her whistle in harmony, he borrowed an oud (similar to a lute but with a thinner neck and no frets) so Asma could practice.

Despite the fact that it was not socially acceptable for women to practice music in Sudan during her time, her father encouraged her interest in music. In fact, the whole family enjoyed singing and was fond of music.

Hamza did not like her own voice and directed her interests towards playing the oud, which her father purchased for her. Surrounded by musicians who often visited her family home, including Ahmed Mustafa, Osman Hussein, Hassan Attia, and Abdel Aziz Mohamed Daoud, Hamza started by playing the oud while listening to other performers and copying their strokes by ear. As she began mastering the instrument, she soon became the very first Sudanese woman with formal training on the oud, which she received in response to her perseverance.

As she started carving her own place in Sudan’s music scene, she performed in small gatherings, followed by bigger stages. She often used lyrics by renowned poets, leading to compositions that were then performed by renowned singers. Her melodies resonate with many people in Sudan and across the Arab world.

On 17 July 1997, Hamza was announced as one of the winners of the Laylat AlQadr AlKubra song competition held in Sudan, standing among many male musicians. This win is considered an important turning point in her career.

Hamza passed away on 21 May 2018.

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)

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SUDAN

QATAR Investment Authority Invests $200mn; Buys Stake in NBA, WNBA & NHL

A report by the Financial Times  has said that the country’s sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), has taken a stake in the owner of Washington’s professional basketball and hockey teams in US sport.

As per the report, the fund is paying $200mn for a 5% stake in Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE) in a deal that values the owner of the National Basketball Association’s Washington Wizards, the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Washington Mystics and the National Hockey League’s Washington Capitals at $4.05bn.

The report also mentions that the investment from QIA, at an estimated $450bn in assets, comes less than a year after the NBA amended its bylaws to allow sovereign wealth funds to invest in clubs.

The QIA said, “As one of the largest integrated sports and entertainment companies in the country, MSE’s platform provides unique opportunities and scalability for growth and partnerships”.

As per the report, people familiar with the Monumental deal said that the QIA was taking a stake in the group as a financial transaction to gain exposure to a company with a diverse range of assets. As per reports, QIA will not gain board representation as part of the transaction.

Source: Financial Times

Cover image credit: www.sportingnews.com

source/content: iloveqatar.net (headline edited)

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QATAR

ALGERIA: ’15th Arab Sports Games 2023′ at Mohamed-Boudiaf Olympic Complex, Algiers with Participation of 22 Arab countries, July 05-15.

PM chairs opening ceremony of 15th Arab Sports Games.

On behalf of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the Prime Minister, Aimene Benabderrahmane chaired the opening of the 15th Arab Sports Games organized by Algeria from on 5-15 July at Mohamed-Boudiaf Olympic Complex in Algiers, with the participation of nearly 2,000 athletes representing 22 Arab countries.

The opening ceremony of the 15th Arab Sports Games hosted by Algeria (July 5-15) started Wednesday in the Mohamed Boudiaf Olympic Complex in Algiers, in the presence of Prime Minister Aymen Benabderrahmane, members of government and guests from various countries and organizations.

source/content: aps.dz (headline edited)

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ALGERIA

MAURITANIA: Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick : Role Model for Africa’s Women

Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick has been the mayor of a district of the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott for 14 years. She is living proof that women can make it to the top even in conservative Muslim societies. Elisa Rheinheimer introduces a courageous Mauritanian.

Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick has a warm, maternal demeanour and a firm handshake. Keen eyes sparkle behind her glasses. A petite woman in a traditional flowing robe and a blue headscarf decorated with pink flowers, she doesn’t look like a politician in charge of a 60,000-strong community – at least not to Western eyes.

She is mayor of a district of the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott – and has been for 14 years. That makes her not only a pioneer in her own country, but also a role model for many African women. “I never actually wanted to go into politics,” she says with a laugh, “but I have a very social vein and it was a kind of calling. I wanted to change things in my city for the better.”

Now 57, she originally studied computer science in Belgium. It was during her time there that her eyes were opened to women’s opportunities. Years later, in 2001, she ran for mayor in a district in her home city of Nouakchott – and won at the first attempt. During her first period in office, she was still the only woman mayor in the country. “216 men – and me,” she says, her voice betraying well-earned pride.

Opening the door to politics for other women

In Tevragh-Zeina, the district of the capital of Nouakchott for which she is responsible, everyone knows her. She has achieved a great deal there, improving school education – particularly for girls – reforming the administration, reorganising refuse disposal and investing in infrastructure. Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick wanted to build car parks, playgrounds and football pitches – and she did.

It sounds so easy when she talks about it now, but it certainly wasn’t quite that simple: “To begin with, I found the responsibility and the expectations people placed on my shoulders a burden,” she says. “After all, I had to be successful so as to open the door for other women and enable them to get into politics.”

She has had some success in this respect. There are now three other women mayors in Mauritania. She herself has never felt uncomfortable in her country’s male-dominated political arena. “Women have a very good status in our society,” she explains, “that made it easier for me.”

Development and religion hand in hand

And religion? What role does faith play in her life? Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick looks rather perplexed, cocking her head in surprise as if she considers the question superfluous. “A very important one,” she says after a pause, “I am a Muslim.”

Development and religion, she says, are not mutually exclusive but belong together. She rejects the idea that Islam oppresses women and makes it hard for them to have a career of their own. In the Mauritanian religious tradition, she says, Islam virtually demands that women play an active role in society.

A mother of three grown children, Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick is not only a local politician but also president of the Network for Locally Elected Women of Africa. She is invited to conferences and panel discussions all over the world, flying from one continent to the next. “Being up in the air is perfectly normal for me,” she says. Sometimes 24 hours are not enough to get everything done that she wants to do.

Raising awareness of environmental issues in Mauritania

One reason for that lack of time is that she also feels responsible for environmental protection and catastrophe management in her country. Mauritania has to deal with water shortages, sandstorms and desertification.

She organises workshops in schools, for instance, to raise awareness of environmental issues among children and young people. She has launched campaigns for the protection of dunes, planted date palms in the city with women’s groups, and called on local people to clean up the country’s beaches.

Her calm, relaxed demeanour is certainly part of her recipe for success. Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick was recently re-elected for her third term in office, and has enough plans and projects in mind for the next 20 years. Mauritania is at No. 158 on the Human Development Index, close to the bottom of the ranking.

This hardworking mayor has a lot of work ahead of her. She currently has more than 3,000 fans on Facebook; in real life, there are no doubt many more than that.

source/content: en.qantara.de / Elisa Rheinheimer

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MAURITANIA

SUDAN: Ismail Ahmed Ismail: From last place to Sudan’s First Olympic Medal

While winning an Olympic medal is a personal goal for thousands of athletes, for 24 nations it is a dream that has only ever come true once. Tokyo2020.org looks at the glorious moment and the impact it had on the lives of the athletes who achieved it.

The background

Sudan made its Olympic debut at Rome 1960 and since then the country has participated in most of the Olympic Games.

Despite its nearly 50 years of participation in the Olympics, Sudan’s first medal on the world’s greatest sporting stage didn’t come until Beijing 2008, when Ismail Ahmed Ismail won silver in the men’s 800m.

Born in a Darfur farming tribe, Ismail was introduced to athletics at school. Surprisingly, instead of 800m, he started as a 3,000m runner and participated in 1,500m races as well. After watching his performance in long-distance races, the then national athletics coach Omer Khalifa advised him to move down to 800m. So he did and went to win the National Junior Championships.

In 2002, Ismail participated in the World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica and finished fifth in a time of 1:47.20. Two years later, he had his first Olympic experience at Athens 2004, where he made to the 800m final after a personal best in the semi-final. But he would go on to finish last in the final.

In an interview with IAAF in 2008, Ismail explained that he was not optimistic at the prospect of winning at the Games and was exhausted in the final.

“I just wanted to do my best,” he said.

History in the making
Al though Ismail continued improving his performance in 800m, since Athens he had been troubled by injuries and only took part in a few races throughout 2007. But he did not allow this setback to seize his dreams on the track.

“I knew I was going to come back. My coach (Jama Aden) was the one talking to me. I ran in the African Championships (2008, in Addis) and I was 2nd. I know I can do it again,” he said in the IAAF interview.

Somali-born Jama Aden is an Olympian himself and had coached Abdi Bile to a world title in 1987. He saw great potential in Sudanese runners like Ismail.

Aden’s confidence became a driving force behind the athletes, who trained on a land troubled by conflicts and poverty. According to a report by The Christian Science Monitor back in 2008, Ismail and his teammates had to use old paint cans filled with concrete for weight training and would run at the track at the never-completed athletics stadium surrounded by rubble. They also had to finish training before sunset as there were no floodlights.

Thanks to a rebound in early 2008, Ismail made it to Beijing 2008 together with another home favourite Abubaker Kaki, who ran a world junior 800m record of 1:42.79 at the Oslo Bislett Games in June 2008.

But a small injury stopped Kaki in the 800m semi-final in Beijing with Ismail making the final. This time, he did not let the chance go.

Placed at lane eight, Ismail had a relatively slow start but then he sped up on the second lap to pass reigning world champion Alfred Yego of Kenya. He kept the momentum until the finish line to finish behind Wilfred Bungei of Kenya. Clocking 1:44.70, he won Sudan’s long-awaited Olympic medal, a silver.

Life-changing impact

Ismail’s historic win in Beijing has another huge significance on the world outside sport. His success came in a time when Sudan was facing an unprecedented political crisis. To him and his teammate, Beijing was a chance to show people the positive side of Sudan.

After securing the country’s first Olympic medal, according to AP, people in Sudan hailed Ismail as a national hero and the picture of him wrapped in a Sudanese flag landed him on the front pages of the country’s newspapers.

Quoted by the Sudan Media Centre, Ismail said, “I can’t find words to express my joy. This is an achievement for my country first and then for me. I was able to achieve this honour because of a lot of hard training.”

With his achievement at the Beijing 2008 Games saw Ismail became the flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony of London 2012. However, in London he failed to make the 800m final.

At Rio 2016, no Sudanese athlete participated in the men’s 800m.

Scrolling through Sudan’s Olympic record, one could easily notice that athletics has been their major field of competition. Among the 81 Olympic participants, 33 of them are in athletics, followed by 17 in boxing. With Ismail’s historic breakthrough, there is a fair reason to expect Sudanese athletes to mark another milestone in the future.

source/content: olympics.com (headline edited)

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(Picture by 2008 Getty Images)

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SUDAN

EGYPTIAN-SCOTTISH Ayoub Sisters to Perform at King Charles’ Coronation in Edinburgh

Egyptian-Scottish classical duo the Ayoub Sisters are scheduled to perform at King Charles III’s coronation in Edinburgh on Wednesday.

“We are delighted to share that we have been invited by HM King Charles III to perform at his coronation in Edinburgh next week,” wrote the Ayoub Sisters on Facebook on Saturday.

“The ceremony is part of Royal Week, with the King and Queen undertaking several engagements in Scotland, and will be broadcast live on BBC One. Tune in on Wednesday 5th July at 1:30pm to watch the celebration unfold,” they added.

The Ayoub Sisters have taken the international music scene by storm since their debut at the Royal Albert Hall in 2016. Laura Ayoub plays the violin – performing on an 1810 J. Gagliano – and Sarah Ayoub masters the cello. Both play the piano. 

The internationally renowned duo were discovered by producer Mark Ronson.

Their young, albeit sparkling, career has led them to sign a contract with Decca Records, one of the UK’s biggest record labels playing at the BRITS and the BAFTAs. Their album topped the Official Classical Artist Albums Chart.

The duo explore many musical genres, starting from classical music to Scottish traditional repertoire, topping it with captivating arrangements of pop, funk, and world music.

Their virtuosity and creativity have taken them to many prestigious halls in the UK (the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, London Palladium) and the rest of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)

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SCOTLAND / EGYPT

U.A.E: Abu Dhabi schoolgirl ‘Amna Al Mansouri’ Crowned ‘UAE Arab Reading Challenge’ Champion

Competition also had a new category this year for disabled pupils.

An Abu Dhabi pupil was crowned the winner of the UAE Arab Reading Challenge in Dubai on Friday.

Emirati schoolgirl Amna Al Mansouri, who read 128 books during the academic year, took top spot ahead of more than 500,000 pupils.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, praised those who took part.

“Today, the UAE celebrated 514,000 students from state schools who participated in the Arab Reading Challenge – whose Arab and international participation reached 24.8 million students,” he said on Twitter.

“I congratulate Amna Mohammed Al Mansouri, and her family, for coming in first place. Amna read 128 books during the academic year.

“Two years ago, Amna lost the ability to walk, but that did not stop her. She soldiered ahead and sailed across the vast ocean of knowledge and literature. The challenge was the beginning of a life-changing experience.

“Today, Amna can walk once again, she has won the Reading Challenge and has authored two stories.

“She will represent the country in a few days at the International Physics Olympiad in Tokyo.”

Amna took the top prize ahead of Mohammed Al Hammadi and Iman Daoud.

The competition had a new category this year for disabled pupils. Emirati pupil, Ghareeb Al Yamahi, won first place, with Ghaya Zainallah coming in second place.

“I also congratulate the student Gharib Al Yamahi who won first place in the reading challenge in the category of people of determination,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“Gharib is blind in sight but he is not a stranger in the path of achievement.

“Gharib read 130 books during the academic year in Braille. He is a writer of articles, a speaker and an inspiration to all of us. When a blind person reads 130 books, sighted people should review themselves.

“All the best to Gharib who, with his persistence and willpower, represents the saying that ‘nothing is impossible in the UAE’.”

The ceremony was attended by Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology.

Largest in the world

In May, Sheikh Mohammed  said the annual Arab Reading Challenge  had become the largest event of its kind in the world.

He said 24.8 million pupils from 46 countries had taken part in this year’s competition.

It was launched in 2015 to encourage a million young people to read at least 50 books in a year.

The challenge usually starts at the beginning of the academic year, around September, and continues until the end of the academic year.

The Arab Reading champion is selected based on the pupil’s ability to articulate general knowledge, critical thinking and communication skills, plus the diversity of books they have selected.

A Syrian schoolgirl who survived a deadly missile attack during the civil war in her country was crowned the Arab Reading Challenge Champion in November.

Sham Al Bakour, who was seven when she was named winner, was only six months old when her family’s car was struck during violence in Aleppo in December 2015.

Her father was killed while she and her mother survived the horrific attack.

She completed a remarkable journey from tragedy to triumph to win words of praise from Sheikh Mohammed.

The young literature lover read 70 books to win the competition.

When asked about what she would do with the Dh1 million ($270,000) prize money, she said she would give it to her mother.

source/content: thenationalnews.com (headline edited)

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The UAE Arab Reading Challenge prize ceremony was held in Dubai.

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ARAB WORLD / UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

U.A.E Ranks 7th Globally in Terms of Per Capita National Income

According to the World Bank, the UAE has maintained its place among the list of countries with the highest per capita income based on the Atlas method.

The UAE ranked seventh in the world in terms of per capita national income, according to the latest World Bank data.


The UAE’s per capita income increased by $10,781 from 2021 to $87,729 in July 2022, based on purchasing power parity in current international dollars.


The international dollar is a virtual currency that is used for evaluating the purchasing power of various countries.


It is based on the US dollar, but it has the same purchasing power as each country’s local currency.


According to the World Bank, the UAE has maintained its place among the list of countries with the highest per capita income based on the Atlas method while also using current US dollar prices.


Using the Atlas method, the World Bank breaks down the world’s economies into four income groups: low, lower middle, upper middle and high.


The categorizations are revised annually depending on the previous fiscal year’s per capita income.


The UAE’s per capita national income in current US dollars rose to $48,950 in 2022 from $43,460 in 2021, surpassing the pre-COVID-19 level of $46,210.


The Atlas method, which was developed in its current form in 1989, is used to express gross national income in US dollars.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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The UAE ranked seventh in the world in terms of per capita national income, according to the latest World Bank data. (Shutterstock/File Photo)

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)