Jumu’ah mubarak! The Friday Fill-in is The Athletic Ummah’s weekly news roundup. If you have a story or athlete you’d like to pitch for it, email us at TheAthleticUmmah@gmail.com.
The Headlines
Saudi Arabia lone bid for 2034 World Cup: Saudi Arabia was the only country to present a bid to host the men’s 2034 FIFA World Cup before the deadline closed on Tuesday. Australia was initially viewed as a challenger to the Middle Eastern country, but they pulled out of the bidding process prior to the deadline. 2034 World Cup hosting bids were only open to members of the Asian Football Confederation and the Oceania Football Confederation.
Mané, Salah among African Footballer of the Year nominees: Two-time African Footballer of the Year winners Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah are among the Muslims nominated for the 2023 African Football of the Year award. The 30-player shortlist includes several Muslim players and footballers from Muslim-majority countries, including Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez, Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Ghana’s Mohammed Kudus. Nine of the award’s last ten recipients were Muslims. The Awards Gala is scheduled for Dec. 11.
Ons Jabeur to donate prize money to Palestine: Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur pledged to donate part of her WTA Finals prize money to help Palestinians, as Israel bombards Gaza. Following her victory over Marketa Vondrousova in Cancún, Mexico, Jabeur said, “I cannot be happy with just this win, with what’s happening.” Jabeur is the highest-ranked African and Arab tennis player in the WTA.
What You Might’ve Missed
You won’t find many Western countries as racially diverse as the United States, and last month, NFL personnel celebrated that fact by highlighting all of the countries they come from.
As part of the NFL Heritage program, NFL players and coaches dawned patches on their helmets and jackets representing their diverse nationalities and cultures, during Weeks 7 (Oct. 19-23) and 8 (Oct. 26-30.)
Participants were allowed to wear the flag of an international country or territory where relatives have been born or where they’ve lived for more than two years. These decals were worn alongside the U.S. flag.
More than 70 countries and territories were represented by the program, including Muslim-majority nations and countries with significant Muslim-minority populations. Nigeria, which is home to an estimated 90 million Muslims), was one of the most well-represented countries, with 80 players wearing its flag.
“This initiative allows us to celebrate the heritage, families and cultures that make up the fabric of the league, and truly showcases the growing global reach and impact of the sport of football and the NFL” Peter O’Reilly, executive vice president of Club Business, International and League Events, said in a press release.
Although the response to the initiative was largely positive, New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh — the first Muslim coach in NFL history and a person of Lebanese descent — was singled out by an Israel-supporting Twitter user, who tried to suggest he might be “on the side of the rapists, murderers, and baby beheaders” for wearing the Lebanon flag decal. Unsurprisingly, that Twitter user’s claim was largely rejected and they were accused of racism.
Muslim Athletes of the Week
Last weekend saw some of the biggest rivalries play out in European football. But while most of the world’s eyes focused on El Clasico and the Manchester Derby, two teams of refugees squared off in Boise, U.S.
On Saturday, Oct. 28, a crowd of about 100 people came to the Boise High Athletic Complex to watch local club Toofan Football Club take on Seattle’s Afghan United FC. The teams were mainly comprised of Afghan refugees, and they competed for the inaugural Refugee Championship Cup.
“Even though the weather was windy, all the families were here with their kids encouraging us,” said Mohammad Shafi, captain of Toofan FC. “That was great, we really enjoyed it.”
I’m sure part of that enjoyment was down to his team’s 2-1 win, which enacted some revenge for a 2022 loss in Washington State. But this game wasn’t just about some friends meeting up to play football.
According to the U.S. Department of State, about 97,000 refugees from Afghanistan have arrived in the U.S. since the collapse of the Afghan government in 2021. Some of the players who participated in this match were among these refugees, while others fled to the U.S. 20 or so years ago, when the U.S. led an invasion into Afghanistan.
These refugees made difficult decisions and fought through extreme obstacles to get to where they are today. Along the way, they may have felt exhausted, alone and abandoned. So this game between Toofan FC and United FC was a chance for many of these refugees to bond together and feel a sense of community.
You can’t help but applaud the resilience and strength of these athletes, who are uniting behind the power of sports. For this reason, they’re The Athletic Ummah’s Muslim Athletes of the Week.
Who’s That Athlete?
“Who’s That Athlete?” is our weekly quiz, where we give you three hints about a Muslim athlete and you have to guess who that athlete is.
Last week’s answer was basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Here are this week’s hints:
-I was the longest-reigning UFC Lightweight champion ever.
-I didn’t lose a single professional MMA fight.
-I am the first Muslim to win a UFC title.
Who’s That Athlete? Let us know on Instagram (the.athletic.ummah) before we reveal the answer on Monday.
Headline image credit: dohanews.co
[…] Last week’s answer was UFC icon Khabib Nurmagomedov. Here are this week’s hints: […]