FOOTBALL IS COMING HOME » Bahrain

Football and Politics in Bahrain

Peter Alegi — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:47:51 +0000

Two of Bahrain’s top footballers, Ala’a Hubail and his brother Mohammed, have been arrested for participating in anti-government demonstrations. “The dismissals are widely believed to have occurred at the behest of the government,” writes James Dorsey over at the mideastsoccer blog. 200 Shi’a sportspeople in the Gulf kingdom have been suspended as the hardline Sunni government continues its repression campaign against the democratic reform movement.

Read the full story here.

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Pinned in their Own Half

David Patrick Lane — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:33:12 +0000

Belated respect to the All Whites. New Zealand represent!

Bahrain’s unexpected defeat leaves the Arab World with only one representative in South Africa. Sayef Mohammed Adnan’s penalty miss in Wellington will have done more than just dampen the spirits on the Emir’s beach. It invites a significant Arab cultural deficit extending well beyond Bahrain.

This may well go unnoticed or be easily forgotten by Arab scholars and Arab media busy with grim development statistics and wars or captivated by ceremonial comings and goings and fashionable American and European diplomats and stars. It should not.

I accept it is difficult to consider the importance of football in the context of the harsher social, economic and environmental realities that dog the Arab World: Desertification. The highest birth rates in the world. High unemployment. 30% Illiteracy. Unrepresentative political systems. Over reliance on oil. Violations of women’s rights. But football does provide confidence and pride in ways social scientists and economists cannot measure. Ask a Brazilian.

The Arab World is pinned in it’s own half.

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All White Experience?

David Patrick Lane — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:51:28 +0000

While Omar and his boys from Bahrain were shooting down the Saudis in the Kingdom, New Zealand were in that other Kingdom kicking it with the Hashemites. It was an experience. New Zealand won the friendly 3-1. The Hashemites ain’t got game no mo’.

New Zealand fancy their chances now. Former captain, Steve Sumner, interviewed for the Christchurch Press, said Bahrain was their “best and easiet” route to the World Cup finals. Sumner also sees English Premier League experience as important for New Zealand, noting in the same interview, the presence of some hacker from New Zealand in Blackburn Rovers’ squad.

The All Whites would be ill advised to assume that because Bahrain is a small island nation with no Premier League performers the playoff is a sure thing to South Africa.

Bahrain has been hanging with Asia’s biggest cats for the best part of the last decade. Bahrain advanced to the final Asian qualifying group stages for the 2002 World Cup. Bahrain was a Semi Finalist in the 2004 Asian Cup, playing the most adventurous and attack-minded football of the tournament. Ask the Uzbeks. And Bahrain were a disallowed goal from qualification in 2006.

This is the experience that matters. Bahrain has it. New Zealand does not. Ask the Fijians.

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Ya Allah Bahrain

David Patrick Lane — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:10:49 +0000

Nasser Al Shamrani scored the opener for Arabia, but in the 40th minute my man Abdulla Omar burst in the box and fed Brother Jaycee John. 1-1. It remained 1-1 until the 91st minute, when Hamad Al-Montashari nodded in what looked like the winner. The Kingdom gave all praises to Allah.

But Ismail Abdullatif had other ideas. And there was no Colombian referee to disallow Bahrain’s 92nd minute goal. Ya Allah Bahrain.

Bahrain will host New Zealand on October 10th. The 2nd leg will be in Wellington on November 14th.

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Bahrain Believe Again

David Patrick Lane — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:04:04 +0000

When Ahmed Hassan wheeled away to celebrate scoring a 92nd minute equalizer against Trinidad and Tobago, Bahrain believed they were on their way to the 2006 World Cup. Colombian ref Oscar Julian Ruiz Acost had other ideas. The goal was of the Best Banks variety. The sort of goal no one wants to see disallowed, especially when the forward’s cheekiness is executed with such fine precision.

Trinidad and Tobago had experienced last minute heartache some years before. No one begrudged them their ticket to Germany, save for a few Sheikhs in Manama.

Bahrain have refused to go away. Tonight they take on Big Brother Arabia.

Bahrain outplayed Saudi Arabia in the first leg in Manama, yet the bookies are disrespecting Bahrain. Saudi Arabia will be a different proposition in Riyadh, but if brother Abdulla Omar has his shooting boots on, I can’t see beyond a Bahrain win tonight.

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