By Walid Tamtam (*) – for Coptic Solidarity –
In Egypt, the Indigenous Christian community is called Coptic, or Copts for short, the majority of whom are Coptic Orthodox, with a small percentage of Coptic Protestants and Catholics. Copts have struggled for centuries to achieve equality in their native land since the Islamic conquest in the 7th Century. Egypt is currently ruled by an authoritarian regime that claims to abide by international human rights norms but does not promote equality among Egyptians. The immediate short-lived predecessor was a popular Islamist alternative, the Muslim Brotherhood, who unabashedly considered non-Muslims as unequal. Failing to promote equality in the sporting portfolio represents a significant missed opportunity. Sports can unite people across religious, ethnic, and linguistic lines, uniting under the athletic meritocracy where your sporting capabilities and nothing else judge you.
In the case of national sports and international sporting competitions such as the Olympics, World Cup, and Africa Cup of Nations, another opportunity presents itself: the promotion of patriotism and national unity when athletes from different walks of life unite to compete on behalf of their homeland. For many developing countries, international sports enable leaders to rally their domestic population and diaspora; The Copts living abroad represent a disproportionately higher percentage of the Egyptian population. According to the Universal Union of Egyptian Expatriates (UUEE), over 6 million Egyptians are members, and 30% are Coptic.
Despite these potentials, Egypt only sent one Coptic athlete, Nadine Barsoum, to Paris out of the 141-member delegation. The same happened in the Tokyo 2020 games, with Youssef Helmy Makkar being the only Coptic athlete, despite Copts comprising at least 15% of the Egyptian population. Discrimination against Coptic athletes exists within Egyptian society and all government-affiliated institutions.
Grassroots to Pro as a Copt
From the grassroots to the professional stage, Coptic athletes face many barriers, starting from the moment they are recognized as Christians by their athletic supervisors, which is facilitated in part by Egypt’s policy of displaying religion on government-issued ID cards and all application forms.
Another element that is more difficult to address is that bigoted coaches quickly identify athletes with names only used by Copts, barring them from fair competition based on their assumed Christian identity. Coptic Solidarity brought the case of young Coptic goalkeeper Mina Halim to light, where the young keeper was barred from participating in tryouts for reasons unrelated to his ability but instead to his Christian faith.
Football continues to be the most popular sport in Egypt by a large margin, with the only Coptic exception to the national team being former superstar Hany Ramzy. Ramzy was an exception not only for being a Copt playing on Egypt’s national team but for breaking many football records during his time. He joined the Al-Ahly senior team in 1987 and was the youngest player at age 18 to receive a national team call. Secondly, Ramzy’s transfer from Swiss Club Neuchatel Xamax to German Club SV Werder Bremen for a $1.5 million fee in the summer of 1994 was the most paid for an Egyptian player. He was the most expensive Egyptian player in the 1990s, one of the only in Europe, and the only Egyptian in the Top 5 Leagues (Bundesliga, La Liga, Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1). His 19-year pro run ended in 2006, and he now serves as the head scout of the Al Ahly Club, where, hopefully, he can use his influence to bridge the gaps, something in which he seems to thus far have failed. It is also noteworthy that many Muslim Egyptians and sporting officials tokenize the phenomenal career of Hany Ramzy to deflect accusations of anti-Coptic discrimination. It’s clear by the merits of Ramzy’s exceptional job that the former center-back was too good to sacrifice at the time. However, his home club, Al-Ahly, didn’t extend his contract or sell him before he left the club on a free transfer to Swiss Club Neuchatel Xamax, possibly hinting his value was underestimated at the start of his career.
Coptic’s and Women’s Sports:
Even among Muslim Egyptians themselves, discrimination exists on gendered lines; women are constantly criticized by Islamist bigotry. Leading football journalist Inas Mazhar explained that; “many think football is not a game for women and have this archaic view that women playing football is not in tune with our culture.”
Unlike the Muslim society in Egypt, Coptic society offers a famous doctrine of equality between men and women regarding participation in athletics, specifically environments where co-ed relationships exist and athletic clothing. For Islamic reasons, Muslim girls in Egypt face many challenges when attempting to play sports, yet the potential for development exists, provided that Coptic women athletes are allowed to thrive. By providing a balanced playing field for Coptic girls, the talent pool can expand to cover a more extensive section of Egyptian society, promoting competitive success in all sports and continuing to drive attention to women’s sports, leading to increased funding.
In the context of women’s football, the Western world holds dominance, with the USA and Canada rising above their male counterparts in terms of historic success and global triumph. This is simply due to the nature of well-funded youth and academic infrastructure in women’s sports, including football, which is not even one of the national sports in Canada.
Conclusion:
Coptic Christians in Egypt, despite being a critical part of Egypt’s history and present, face discrimination in both macro and micro aggression forms; their exclusion from sports often comes in the form of micro-aggressions that the government should combat. Sports must become a unifying force to aid Egyptian societies’ development to overcome anti-Coptic discrimination and improve their competitive prospects to win more medals in Los Angeles 2028, Morocco 2025 (CAF), and all other international competitions where Egypt has struggled recently.
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(*) Walid Tamtam is a Conservative Political Commentator and Researcher on Religious and Social Freedoms in the MENA region. He regularly contributes to media campaigns highlighting the plight of minority communities, free expression, religion, and the political sports industry.
