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Egypt’s Football Revolution: Emotion, Masculinity, and Uneasy Politics
Both a symbol of the Mubarak government’s power and a component in its construction of national identity, football served as fertile ground for Egyptians to confront the regime’s overthrow during the 2011 revolution. With the help of the state, appreciation for football in Egypt peaked in the late 2000s. Yet after Mubarak fell, fans questioned their previous support, calling for a reformed football for a new, postrevolutionary nation. In Egypt’s Football Revolution , Carl Rommel examines the politics of football as a space for ordinary Egyptians and state forces to negotiate a masculine Egyptian chauvinism. Basing his discussion on several years of fieldwork with fans, players, journalists, and coaches, he investigates the increasing attention paid to football during the Mubarak era; its demise with the 2011 uprisings and 2012 Port Said massacre, which left seventy-two fans dead; and its recent rehabilitation. Cairo’s highly organized and dedicated Ultras fans became a key revolutionary force through their antiregime activism, challenging earlier styles of fandom and making visible entrenched ties between sport and politics. As the appeal of football burst, alternative conceptions of masculinity, emotion, and politics came to the fore to demand or prevent revolution and reform.
312 pages, Hardcover
Published July 27, 2021
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August 19, 2022
In Egypt’s Football Revolution, Carl Rommel tells the story of national football in Egypt and its relationship to political developments, most notably those surrounding its participation in the Arab Spring of 2011. The author explores the relationship between the game and politics and argues that this relationship limited what it could accomplish in the aftermath of the Egyptian Revolution of that year. Using the concept of siyasa, he demonstrates that the more the football movement in Egypt drifted away from perceptions of apoliticality or neutrality, the less useful it became as a driving force. Rather than tell this story from simply written accounts, however, he takes an anthropological and personal approach to his work through the use of anecdotes and formal interviews, as well as his own lived experiences during the period.
Rommel’s introductory chapter outlines his motivations, arguments, and intents clearly and provides a brief, but contextualizing, history of the game in Egypt and his methodology. His remaining chapters are split into three parts: “Bubble”, “Ultras”, and “Aftermath”. The first two chapters are situated in part one. Chapter 1 sets the stage by providing a picture of the Egyptian football stage under President Mubarak as both emotionally charged, but also political. Egyptians were aware of the political messaging behind national football, but accepted it due to the team’s performances and the fact that it was not too intrusive into the game itself. Chapter 2 examines Egypt’s World Cup Qualifying Games against Algeria, where the political aspects became more intrusive and surrounding events that were characterized as “fanaticism” detracted from the image a moral and neutral game.
“Ultras” chronicles the eponymous “superfan” football movement that was able to take a leading role in the Egyptian Revolution. Chapters 3 and 4 examine the foundation and development of the movement within the context of football’s “bubble” and how it was able to negotiate a popular image of independent action and thought. As Chapter 5 demonstrates, however, the very act of being part of the revolutionary movement forced it to make decisions that could not help being seen as political, such as its reaction to the verdicts in the Port Said massacre. Once it became perceived as part of siyasa, the movement lost its popularity and mobilizing power.
The final two body chapters, termed “aftermath”, take a deeper, anthropological approach to the subject and examine how the nation lost its passion for football, which in turn led to its loss of revolutionary power. Having become too political, football lost its attractiveness as demonstrated by the story of Rommel’s friend, who moved on to other concerns in the aftermath of the revolution. The author leaves us with some hope in Chapter 7, however, by suggesting that football’s ludic elements still remain attractive on a personal level, even if interest in the meanings, potential, and literal results faded. As his postscript notes, even the great Mohamed Salah and Egypt’s first World Cup appearance in almost three decades could not stir the same passions that it had in the 1990s and 2000s.
The author’s conclusion is brief, but does well in recapitulating the main points and drawing the narrative to a fitting end. Overall, Egypt’s Football Revolution can be personal at times, but rarely does it rise to the level of distraction in the argument. This work admits that it is providing an overview not meant for a popular or basic understanding of three decades of Egyptian football, but as a scholarly piece it covers its topic with admirable rigor. If the reader can accept the interdisciplinary blend and appreciate it for its purpose, then they will find much to be gained in reading Rommel’s work.
Rommel’s introductory chapter outlines his motivations, arguments, and intents clearly and provides a brief, but contextualizing, history of the game in Egypt and his methodology. His remaining chapters are split into three parts: “Bubble”, “Ultras”, and “Aftermath”. The first two chapters are situated in part one. Chapter 1 sets the stage by providing a picture of the Egyptian football stage under President Mubarak as both emotionally charged, but also political. Egyptians were aware of the political messaging behind national football, but accepted it due to the team’s performances and the fact that it was not too intrusive into the game itself. Chapter 2 examines Egypt’s World Cup Qualifying Games against Algeria, where the political aspects became more intrusive and surrounding events that were characterized as “fanaticism” detracted from the image a moral and neutral game.
“Ultras” chronicles the eponymous “superfan” football movement that was able to take a leading role in the Egyptian Revolution. Chapters 3 and 4 examine the foundation and development of the movement within the context of football’s “bubble” and how it was able to negotiate a popular image of independent action and thought. As Chapter 5 demonstrates, however, the very act of being part of the revolutionary movement forced it to make decisions that could not help being seen as political, such as its reaction to the verdicts in the Port Said massacre. Once it became perceived as part of siyasa, the movement lost its popularity and mobilizing power.
The final two body chapters, termed “aftermath”, take a deeper, anthropological approach to the subject and examine how the nation lost its passion for football, which in turn led to its loss of revolutionary power. Having become too political, football lost its attractiveness as demonstrated by the story of Rommel’s friend, who moved on to other concerns in the aftermath of the revolution. The author leaves us with some hope in Chapter 7, however, by suggesting that football’s ludic elements still remain attractive on a personal level, even if interest in the meanings, potential, and literal results faded. As his postscript notes, even the great Mohamed Salah and Egypt’s first World Cup appearance in almost three decades could not stir the same passions that it had in the 1990s and 2000s.
The author’s conclusion is brief, but does well in recapitulating the main points and drawing the narrative to a fitting end. Overall, Egypt’s Football Revolution can be personal at times, but rarely does it rise to the level of distraction in the argument. This work admits that it is providing an overview not meant for a popular or basic understanding of three decades of Egyptian football, but as a scholarly piece it covers its topic with admirable rigor. If the reader can accept the interdisciplinary blend and appreciate it for its purpose, then they will find much to be gained in reading Rommel’s work.
February 27, 2023
Well written, incredibly engaging, blending history and ethnography and some deeper theory, Rommel's history of Egyptian football reveals incredible nuance to the construction of football for nationalist uses as well as the adoption of the masses who peruse and use it for their own spiritual rhythmic rituals. This book will continue to impact the way I interpret my favorite past-time and help me to understand why it has captivated audiences globally, and how it has not captivated the United States in the same way as other sports have. A must read for students of revolution, football, and revolutionary football.
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