During the 1980s, Egyptian football stadiums became the stage for two strikingly different events. The first occurred during the 1982–83 season when Al Ahly team fans launched a verbal attack on Zamalek’s star player, Hassan Shehata, following the arrest of his sister-in-law, actress ʿAida Riyad, on charges of prostitution. The extensive media coverage of the case provided Al Ahly supporters with provocative material, leading to chants that questioned the fidelity of Shehata’s wife and even the paternity of his child.Footnote 1 In an attempt to quell the aggressive taunts, Al Ahly’s captain at the time, Mahmud al-Khatib, made a gesture of sportsmanship by holding Shehata’s hand and walking with him toward the stands, signaling solidarity.
A few years later, on April 28, 1989, Egyptian football witnessed another event, but one of an entirely different nature. During the Egyptian Cup quarterfinal, after scoring a goal against Zamalek, Al Ahly winger Rabi ʿYassin performed what is now recognized as the first recorded sujūd al-shukr (thanksgiving prostration) in an Egyptian stadium. In a later interview, Yassin revealed that his Qur’an tutor had encouraged him and teammate Tahir Abu Zayd to prostrate in gratitude to God after scoring goals.Footnote 2 This practice gained further prominence when the Egyptian national team player, Magdy Abdul Ghani, became the first player ever to prostrate in a World Cup match, following his goal against the Netherlands in the 1990 group stage. Since then, sujūd al-shukr has become one of the most recognizable goal celebrations among Egyptian footballers.Footnote 3
These two incidents exemplify broader societal transformations taking place in Egypt at the time. On one hand, public displays of piety and religious expression reflect the rise of Islamization and the growing emphasis on performative religiosity. On the other, the emergence of sexually charged chants and the sensationalized media coverage of a moral scandal challenge and complicate the apparent Islamization of society and public performances of piety. In this essay I investigate the underlying dynamics of both phenomena, analyzing their simultaneous occurrence within the same space, enacted by the same individuals, and often unfolding almost concurrently. A key dimension of this study is the role of class in shaping these behaviors and their interpretations. However, the present paper primarily focuses on presenting empirical data, with a more extensive analytical discussion and fieldwork findings reserved for a future in-depth study.
Chants of Domination
From fans’ chants to players celebrating victory, to media coverage, football practice and fandom in Egypt have become associated with an explicit sexual culture. Fans of the country’s two most prominent teams, Ahly and Zamalek, chant against each other using sexual references. Ahly fans describe the Zamalek team, who wear white jerseys, as white girls as they sing:
The girl is white, white, white, the girl is white, what shall I do?
al-Bint bayḍā, al-bint bayḍā wa-ana aʿmal ayy?
The chant, typically heard when Ahly is winning, carries sexual connotations portraying Zamalek as a “white girl” whom Ahly can not resist—implying that victory on the field symbolizes male sexual subjugation of a feminized opponent. The chant, which is taken from a traditional song with a folkloric rhythm by the singer Mitqal Qinawi Mitqal (1929–2004), reflects the sexual desirability of whiteness, particularly the image of a “white girl” in Egyptian popular culture, which is often seen as an explicitly arousing symbol. On the other hand, Zamalek fans describe the Ahly team, who wear red, with a derogatory term for homosexual men in their chant:
What is Ahly wearing? They are dressed in red, all red. Are they fags?
Huwwa al-Ahli lābis ayy? Lābis aḥmar, aḥmar fī aḥmar. Huwwa khawāl walā ayy?
These chants, which start when the team is leading during the game, draw a connection between winning on the field and sexual domination. The winning team is a male aggressor capable of sexually violating women or effeminate males. Interestingly, fans of the losing team use the same derogatory language against their own team’s players, describing them as khawāl, a colloquial term that can be translated as effeminate passive homosexual men, or “faggots.” Their chants demand a more masculine performance from their team:
We need more manliness; we’re playing for a championship!
ʿAyizīn shwayyat rugūla . . . binilʿab ʿalā buṭūla!
In Egypt, where homosexual relations are a social taboo, such references are derogatory, denoting opponents as lesser males. Players who do not demonstrate hegemonic masculine traits such as roughness are labeled “sissy” in different contexts.Footnote 4
The connection between winning and masculinity extends beyond stadium chants into print media, where headlines such as Faʿl/Fāḍiḥ (Scandalous Act, often implying sexual penetration) and Layla Sākhina (Steamy Night) are used to celebrate a team’s victory (Fig. 1). One newspaper affiliated with the Al Ahly club marked their win over Zamalek by describing the match as Laylat al-ʿAntīl (Philanderer’s Night; Fig. 2).
“Scandalous Act in Cairo Stadium,” al-Fursan, 13 May 2003.
“The Philanderer’s Night,” El-Ahly.com, 9 January 2018.
The term al-ʿantīl (philanderer) took on hypersexual connotations in Egyptian media during the summer of 2014, when widespread coverage sensationalized the case of a serial adulterer who recorded his encounters with multiple women and was later brought to trial.Footnote 5 The media’s misrepresentation of the case and the extensive coverage of it eventually reinforced notions of hypermasculinity and hyper–male sexuality. In this context, Al Ahly was likened to al-ʿantīl for its dominance over other teams in the league, equating goal scoring with sexual subjugation.
Sexualization of football also was expressed in how players on each side celebrated their victory. Zamalek’s star, Shikabala, made an apparent male sexual gesture to opposing fans after winning the game against Ahly in the Egyptian Super Cup final in 2020. Chants by Ahly fans targeted the player’s mother and wife throughout the game, and this was his retaliation after winning by defending and asserting his masculinity. Targeting a footballers’ female relatives, especially wives and mothers, has become a common way to attack the opponent team players.
Chants of Purification
On November 14, 2009, Cairo International Stadium was packed with more than one hundred thousand eager fans five hours before Egypt’s World Cup qualifying game against Algeria. The internal stadium broadcast host would interrupt the audience chants every once in a while, asking everyone in the stands to recite, after him, short chapters from the Qurʾan, namely al-Fatiha (The Opener) and Surat al-Ikhlas (The Sincerity).Footnote 6 He followed up with a duʿāʾ(prayer), and the fans were asked to respond by saying Amīn (Amen). His prayers were centered around the game; in a recorded clip from the day, the broadcast host said “Yā Rab unṣur Maṣr” (God, grant Egypt Victory), and the audience replied, “Amīn.” The du‘ā’ was repeated at least six times before he said “Yā Rab” (Please God), which was echoed by the fans twice.Footnote 7 The call for prayers was made through the internal broadcast, and the audience was asked to follow the prophetic tradition of repeating the call for prayer and following up with a duʿā’. Footnote 8
Performances of piety have become an integral part of Egyptian football culture. The Egyptian national team earned the nickname Muntakhab al-Sājidīn (The Prostrating Squad) due to the players’ collective thanksgiving prostration after every goal. Hassan Shehata, the Egyptian national team head coach from 2004 to 2011, expressed in an interview with a newspaper the importance of piety by saying that he “strives to make sure that those who wear the national jersey are on good terms with God.”Footnote 9 Interestingly, this stands in contrast to the previous generation of players, who were frequently photographed with women celebrities in bars and nightclubs.
This public performance of piety is not limited to the national team and its squad; professional football clubs in Egypt have exhibited equal religious behavior. Ahly and Zamalek, the biggest and the most popular teams, were reported to slaughter animals, qarābīn (offerings), on the training ground as a sacrifice to unjinx the team and end a losing streak or heal an injury to players.Footnote 10 Usually, the meat is distributed to the poor as a form of charity. Players use distinct terms of piety in interviews, as they thank God for their good performance and attribute any loss to divine destiny, such as Rabinā ʿayīz kida (God wants this). Fans, inside and outside the stadium, exhibit equal performances of piety, starting with communal supplications, Yā Rab, before every penalty or free kick during the game and posting prayers on social media platforms.
Critics of the increasing performances of piety in relation to football described such associations as the infiltration of “Salafis” into football. Contrary to this perception, Salafi scholars have always been hostile toward football. Notable Salafi leaders in Egypt, such as Yassir Burhami and Abu Ishaq al-Huwayni, consider football an impermissible form of lahū (distraction) and a waste of time.Footnote 11 A wide range of religious figures not affiliated with the Salafi tradition share a similar opinion, including Muhammad Mitwali al-Shaʿrawi (1911–98), the former minister of religious endowment and iconic religious scholar.Footnote 12 However, this position was negotiated by other scholars, including the official state institution, Dar al-Iftaʾ (Egyptian Islamic Advisory), which ruled it permissible on the condition that it does not lead to sins, namely fighting between fans and fanaticism or obstructing one from performing religious duties.Footnote 13
Football and Social Change
Football was introduced into Egypt by the British military during the late 19th century. Soon after, the game was adopted by the local middle class, known as the effendiya, who received a Westernized education and usually ran the state apparatus.Footnote 14 Egyptian sporting clubs were established with social and political goals alongside an interest in sports, including al-Olympi in 1905, al-Ittihad in 1906, and Al Ahly in 1907.Footnote 15 However, in the wake of the 1952 coup d’état by the Free Officers, also known as the July revolution, significant changes occurred in football. Sporting club presidents, who were previously pashas from the upper-class bourgeoise or businessmen, were replaced by military or police officers.Footnote 16 Interestingly, the Free Officers began to make their affiliations with football clubs visible when Gamal ʿAbd al-Nasser (r. 1954–70) supported Ahly and his vice president, ʿAbd al-Hakim ʿAmr, became a fierce supporter of Zamalek.
The newly established socialist regime under Nasser introduced egalitarian policies aimed at expanding the middle class and promoting social homogeneity. As part of this effort, military officers and their families were granted access to exclusive elite clubs, such as the Gezira and Heliopolis sporting clubs in Cairo. As a result, the traditional elite gradually faded from view, replaced by a growing middle class that increasingly shared common patterns of consumption and lifestyle.Footnote 17
Football in Egypt took a significant turn following the military defeat of 1967. President Nasser suspended the Egyptian Football League, which he claimed was a distraction from the military struggle.Footnote 18 The attention paid to football was regarded, among other factors, as a reason for the military loss. The league stoppage continued for four years until resuming in season 1971–72 under the new president, Anwar al-Sadat (r. 1970–81), because the new government believed that football might serve as a means of restoring prewar life.Footnote 19
Unfortunately, only a few months into the new season, Ahly’s goalkeeper objected to the referee’s call for a penalty after he committed a foul against a rival Zamalek striker. The situation escalated quickly as Ahly supporters entered the field in anger, throwing stones and starting fires in the stands.Footnote 20 The fans clashed with the police forces securing the game, which resulted in twenty-seven fans and seventeen policemen being injured; four suffered concussions. In addition, ten ambulances were destroyed, along with three police cars. This was not the only incident during the day; another game between al-Mahala and al-Olympi witnessed similar chaos.Footnote 21 Mahala fans entered the field multiple times, trying to attack the referee before eventually knocking him out after several attempts. The angry fans stormed outside the stadium to clash with the police, destroying several private cars and six public buses and injuring four police officers. In the wake of these two events, which occurred on the same day, the Egyptian Football Federation issued a statement declaring the league’s suspension until the end of the season due to the fans’ misbehavior. The football federation cited other incidents of fan violence in their statement.
The league resumed in the 1972–73 season before being suspended again the year after due to the 1973 war. Upon its return in 1974–75, the landscape of football was set for significant change. Although the history of football in Egypt reflects a gradual shift toward broader inclusion of lower socioeconomic classes, the 1973 war years marked an accelerated transformation due to wider socioeconomic change. The country’s transformation toward an open-door, neoliberal economy and the dismantling of the public sector led to the deterioration of middle- and lower-class living standards. The increasing economic stress forced millions of Egyptians to migrate in pursuit of better work opportunities, especially in the Arab Gulf countries.
Although football fandom and participation in Egypt had always been cross-class, by the late 1970s change was unfolding. The mass availability of television and the broadcasting of football matches altered patterns of spectatorship, enabling those who could afford a television to watch games from the comfort of their homes rather than attending in person. Simultaneously, Egypt’s transition to a neoliberal economy facilitated the emergence of new leisure spaces such as shopping malls, amusement parks, fast food restaurants, and cafes offering alternatives to the traditional weekend trip to the stadium. These developments contributed to a decline in stadium attendance, prompting calls in print media for fans to attend games to support their teams, drawing a connection between broadcasting of football games and stadium attendance.Footnote 22
Elite sports clubs, such as al-Gezira, suspended football activities in the late 1970s, only to resume them in the late 1990s.Footnote 23 One of the reasons cited for this decision was the presence of “inappropriate audiences.”Footnote 24 Al-Gezira, which played in the second and third divisions, would compete against impoverished teams from poor areas, whose fans would attend the matches. This arguably led to suspending football activity by al-Gezira, particularly to avoid the “fans of football.” This did not apply to other sports such as water polo and basketball.
The layout of football stadiums in Egypt reflects a clear social hierarchy, with seating divided into three main sections. The first class (daraja ūla) seating is centrally located, surrounding the VIP lounge (maqṣūra raʾīsiyya) that offers the best seating. Opposite this section is the second class (daraja thāniya), which also provides a favorable view. Third class (daraja thālitha), situated at both ends of the pitch, has the least advantageous vantage point but comprises the majority of stadium seating and offers the most affordable tickets. Over time, third class fans have become synonymous with the most passionate football supporters. The fan groups occupying this section are predominantly male, with rules preventing female participation. This is not due to piety; rather, female presence is seen as a threat to the brotherly cohesion among group members.Footnote 25 Additionally, the verbal and physical violence, as well as hooliganism, displayed by some fans make this space unsuitable for women and families, who instead opt for seating in the first- and second-class sections.
This social transformation has been noticeable in the players themselves. For instance, before the stoppage in 1967, it was common for footballers to be educated; some even held university degrees, and some came from affluent families with stable careers outside sports. However, this trend changed, as most, if not all, professional players began to come from working-class backgrounds with barely any education, seeking professional football as a means of upward social mobility.
Following the Port Said stadium riot in 2012, which resulted in the death of seventy-four and the injury of hundreds, the Egyptian football league was suspended till the end of the 2011–12 season, and a fan ban decision was put into effect.Footnote 26 The first game scheduled after the ban was lifted in 2015 resulted in an equally horrific incident.Footnote 27 Consequently, the total fan ban was reinstated for a few years before allowing controlled attendance and extensive regulation of ticket purchase. An online fan ID account, which required entering personal information and a copy of one’s national ID, became the only means to obtain a ticket. Heightened security and surveillance were not the only newly enacted measures to control the football stadium; ticket prices also surged considerably. This decision has been criticized in media outlets because it makes it difficult for third-class fans, the “true football fans,” to attend.Footnote 28
Reflections
This research opens multiple avenues for further exploration, as each of the previously discussed sections can serve as an independent subject of study. However, the central question guiding this paper has been understanding how these contrasting performances unfold within the same space, enacted by the same individuals at the same time. By applying a class-based lens, this study offers insight into the dynamics of these performances and their broader social implications.
It is important to note that hooliganism and acts of sexual aggression toward opponents are not unique to Egypt. Similarly, the association between religion—or religious experiences—and sports fandom is observed across various contexts, from Poland to Ghana.Footnote 29 However, the Egyptian case is distinctive in its simultaneous display of piety and sexuality within the same public space. These overlapping performances can be interpreted both as responses to one another and as manifestations of Egypt’s shifting social landscape. This transformation, which began after the 1952 revolution and intensified with the country’s shift to a neoliberal economy in the 1970s, fundamentally altered class dynamics and public expressions of identity. Within this evolving context, the third-class stands retained their historical ties to the working class, providing a venue where working-class men could collectively articulate their frustrations, aspirations, and even fantasies on a weekly basis.
Expressions of piety and heightened gender identity and sexuality in the stadium are complex and multilayered. Displays of piety, for example, do not always reflect genuine faith; rather, they may emerge from a sense of desperation—an attempt to claim victory in a life of political and economic disenfranchisement. Similarly, the verbal sexual violence embedded in stadium chants can be understood as a mechanism for asserting a fragile, perhaps even humiliated, masculinity.Footnote 30
Ultimately, the chants of purity and domination in the stadium serve as a form of resistance. They reveal how a group of subaltern men—abandoned by the state, the neoliberal market, and the city—retaliate against the social violence inflicted upon them. These performances, although contrasting in nature, are deeply intertwined, reflecting the lived realities of a class struggling to assert itself in an ever-changing socioeconomic landscape.
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