First Egyptian football team for players with cerebral palsy ++REPLAY++
194 views · Published 28 November 2018 · 3:45 · Indexed 8 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(23 Nov 2018) EGYPT CEREBRAL PALSY SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS RESTRICTIONS: AP CLIENTS ONLY LENGTH: 3:45 ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY Cairo, Egypt - 26 October 2018 1. Various of Egypt's first football team for players with cerebral palsy during training 2. Various of team posing for photograph 3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdallah Essam, team founder: "In late 2016, I met with Captain Ali Abu el-Nasr, the founder of Egypt's national blind football team, and I told him that I wanted to make a football team for us (people with cerebral palsy) and he agreed. I searched online and I was surprised that there have been football games for those with cerebral palsy since the year 1985 but we (Egypt) still weren't doing it yet. So I started to contact my friends through Facebook and also my friends who were with me in the university teams. And in our first event we were only five but now we've reached more than 25 players and we meet every Friday and play for two hours every week." 4. Various of team training 5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hassan Ashraf, team member and engineer: "When I used to play with normal, fit players they did not feel comfortable playing with me. I always found them cautious about playing hard against me and they never got into tough tackles with me as they were afraid of getting me injured, but when playing with someone with no disability they play harder." 6. Various of team playing football ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY Cairo, Egypt – 30 October 2018 7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohamed Nageeb, physiotherapist: "Cerebral palsy is a problem that affects the central nervous system of the foetus during labour or before or for infants after labour which results in problems in movement or talking or growth. Lately physiotherapy has played a big role in enhancing the lives of children with cerebral palsy. Sports for children with cerebral palsy is a great idea but we recommend it to be with their counterparts in order for the children not to feel different or the only one with a problem." ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY Cairo, Egypt – 26 October 2018 8. Wide of team members sitting together 9. Mid of team members LEADIN: An Egyptian man has set up the country's first football team for people with cerebral palsy. Abdallah Essam also has the condition and wanted a place for him and others to play the sport seriously. STORYLINE: What started as a fun activity has turned into a serious sport for this team. They all share two things - a love of football and the condition cerebral palsy. Twenty-four year-old Abdallah Essam is the founder of the team. He himself has cerebral palsy, and wanted a place for him and others like him to be able to take the sport seriously. He was first inspired by watching the Egyptian blind team play. "In our first event we were only five but now we've reached more than 25 players and we meet every Friday and play for two hours every week," he says. Now he's built up team numbers, Essam's dream is for the team to play globally and competitively. One of the team members, Hassan Ashraf, says he used to play football with players without cerebral palsy, but felt he was treated differently: "I always found them cautious about playing hard against me and they never got into tough tackles with me as they were afraid of getting me injured," he says. Physiotherapist Mohamed Nageeb agrees that sports for children with cerebral palsy is a great idea: "but we recommend it to be with their counterparts in order for the children not to feel different or the only one with a problem," he adds. Clients are reminded: Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b4d174c78de23919922d1e865af18da3
