How Nafas empowers Egypt's at-risk youth to reach for the sky through football


Reem Abulleil
  • English
  • Arabic

At Asmarat Youth Centre in south-east Cairo’s Al Mokattam district, 19-year-old Abdelrahman Yasser – known as Koko – is looking sweaty, dishevelled, and grinning from ear to ear after completing a kickboxing training session.

He stops by a football pitch to take a look at a group of young kids during practice and is immediately greeted and embraced by Mohamed Khedr Baydoun and Karim Hosny, the two coaches running the session.

The practice is one of many conducted over the past four months in Cairo, where children between the ages of 14 and 16 are training hard to be selected to represent Team Egypt at the Street Child World Cup in Qatar in October.

Koko was one of the lucky chosen ones that made the team that competed for Egypt in the Russia 2018 edition of the tournament, which has been held every four years on the sidelines of the Fifa World Cup since 2010.

Changing perceptions

Organised by Street Child United, a UK charity headquartered in London, the event came to life 12 years ago with the mission “to tackle the widespread stigma street-connected children face and raise awareness and understanding of their situation, so they are protected, respected and supported to realise their fullest potential”.

Egypt participated in the tournament for the first time in Brazil 2014 after Hosny learned about the initiative. He set his heart on forming a team from Cairo, his home city.

With the help of a small group of friends and colleagues, they all volunteered their time to work with local NGOs that house at-risk youth with previous experience of homelessness. They put together training sessions before selecting a team of nine boys that made the trip to Rio de Janeiro.

By the start of 2015, Hosny had co-founded a social enterprise called Nafas in order to “manage more sustainable and regular local and international programmes that empower youth through sport, including football”.

Under the Nafas umbrella, Hosny and his team expanded their operations, adding girls’ teams to their roster, and participating in more international events like the Homeless World Cup. They set up training sessions in multiple locations across Cairo and organised a Street Football League which featured 400 players from different backgrounds, institutions, homes and streets.

‘An inspirational experience’

In 2018, Egypt fielded a boys’ and girls’ team at the Street Child World Cup in Russia and Koko beams when he reflects on that experience, which saw the kids compete at Lokomotiv Moscow’s Sapsan Arena.

“I didn’t know what to expect before going there but it was such an inspirational experience all in all,” said Koko, who still resides and studies at Ana El Masry (I the Egyptian) Foundation, one of the institutions Nafas has worked with from the start.

“Having a goal in front of me and having to overcome the pressure and train hard to reach that goal and earn this beautiful opportunity of travelling to another country was amazing. It was a great opportunity, not just to travel, but also to represent Egypt in a competition.

“It was a very well-organised event. We got to meet a lot of people and made friends with the other teams. We were even facing a Russian team and the Russian spectators were cheering for us against their own side.”

Lasting motivation

In the four years since he returned from Russia, Koko has learned English and German at the school at Ana El Masry, and he recently took up kickboxing to improve his physical fitness.

“The experience taught me to take care of my health; it taught me to be ambitious and to set goals and to believe that the sky is the limit,” he said.

“It also shows you how important sport is, and as the saying goes, ‘a healthy mind resides in a healthy body’. You have to pay attention to your health and fitness and if it’s not football, you can practise another sport; there doesn’t have to be a trip abroad for you to be motivated to do sport.

“I just started training in kickboxing because I want to apply for military college; that’s one of my goals right now. If I don’t make it, I’d also want to apply for med school.”

Koko paid tribute to his former coach Baydoun, whom he refers to as ‘Captain Khedr’, and respects him for being hard on them during training and equally caring off the pitch.

As he was discussing his time training under Khedr, one of the young boys in practice dropped to the ground to do some push-ups, mid-game. “If you don’t score from a one-on-one opportunity with the ‘keeper, you have to do push-ups,” Khedr later said.

“You have to be determined, with Captain Khedr, there is no other way. Anyone that gives up or doesn’t keep at it, they will lose out on this opportunity,” said Koko as he watched on.

“Captain Khedr values two things: being strong physically and mentally, you have to have determination within you. You have to have a goal and have the confidence in yourself to achieve it.”

‘Food for the soul’

From the sidelines, it’s easy to pick up on the strong connection between Khedr, Hosny and the other coaches with the boys. They share a lot more than just football knowledge with the children and, with time, have managed to earn their trust.

The experience taught me to take care of my health; it taught me to be ambitious and to set goals and to believe that the sky is the limit
Abdelrahman Yasser on representing Egypt at the 2018 Street Child World Cup

Every practice has social workers from Ana El Masry present, to monitor the session and help the coaches with the children.

Hosny describes the social workers as “the anchor” of the project and says they refer to them anytime they need feedback on the boys, or if they want to work with them on something specific.

Mostafa Eissa, one of the social workers present at the practice, is particularly enthusiastic about the initiative.

“Sport fosters in these children the idea of setting goals and striving to reach them. Sport really is food for the soul,” Eissa said.

Building trust

Khedr has been involved with the project since 2014 and is the head coach in charge of training for Qatar 2022.

“This project makes you feel like you’re serving the community in a good way. We try to instil certain qualities that can help them in the future, qualities they didn’t necessarily get the chance to be exposed to in the past because they were raised in a harsh environment,” he said.

He noticed early on how big of an influence he and the other coaches can have on the children, and wanted to make sure they passed on positive habits and ideas.

“We could see how their mindset was changing a bit from spending time with us; things as simple as starting to read a book or learning something new. It’s not about football, it’s football and more,” he added.

Khedr is playful and kind-hearted by nature, and said balancing that persona while remaining strict in practice is key.

“During practice, the number one rule is discipline. You have to do it in a way where you have two characters, one is on the pitch and the other is off the pitch,” he said.

“On the pitch you’re purely the coach, no jokes, it’s work, work, work. But off the pitch we’re friends. It’s very hard to separate both personas but you have to do it that way and it has worked well so far.

“The boys know that on the pitch we’re serious and off the pitch it can be different and that’s why we spend a lot of time communicating with them, before and after practice, during camps. That allows us to discuss things beyond football, we get to share with them stuff from our personal lives.

“I open up to them completely and I am happy to answer all their questions. When you open up to them in a genuine way, they in turn develop a genuine relationship with you and they open up to us. That’s how we build trust. There are several pillars you have to build: trust, loyalty, teamwork, good communication and support.”

‘Utopian dreams’

Hosny has been the driving force behind the entire operation from the start and he is the first to note that the project is mutually beneficial, to them as coaches, as well as the children.

“It gives us a great sense of satisfaction,” he said.

He admits that at the beginning he had “utopian dreams” about the impact a trip like this could have on the young teens, but with time he found it important to note that while it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for almost everyone involved, it wasn’t life-changing.

“It’s just a trip and a positive experience that could benefit them going forward,” he said. “My hope is that it increases their confidence from the fact they were able to make a team and be part of a team and travel and meet people from all over the world and make friends from all over the world.

“Looking at Koko, the experience from Russia motivated him to learn English and now he can speak the language. It’s a good push in the middle of their life.

“You can teach everything through sport; discipline, teamwork, having a goal, winning. Just basically giving them a flavour of this environment, hoping that they will connect to bigger stuff is the effect we’ll have now. It’s a more mature expectation compared to the utopian dreams we had at the beginning.”

You can teach everything through sport; discipline, teamwork, having a goal, winning
Coach Mohamed Khedr Baydoun

‘Getting us back to life’

Each edition of the Street Child World Cup has had its own flavour. For Hosny, Brazil was more emotional because it was the first time for him and the team to participate in the event.

“It was our dream,” he recalled with a smile. “It was the spark of all of this and will remain special for us.

“The one in Russia was very well-organised and was hosted at Lokomotiv Moscow; the team that won celebrated with an open-bus parade when they flew back home. It was really nice.

“The tournament in general is amazing. It’s a festival; you have 27 countries, people from all over the world, different organisations, all of which have a social objective.

“It’s very dynamic, it’s a big celebration. To be able to make it is a challenge for everyone, whether to train, whether to raise the money, so the feeling you get there is amazing. You know it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a lot of the people.”

He is now looking forward to taking the children to Doha, where there will be other Arab teams taking part for the first time – a Palestinian side from the West Bank and a Syrian one from a refugee camp in Turkey.

Continuity

After Covid interrupted their operations for almost two years, the whole Nafas team is thrilled to get the ball rolling again.

“This tournament for us is about continuity and it’s getting us back to life. It’s giving our programme a second wind, on the ground and sponsors-wise and structure-wise as well,” Hosny said.

He plans to restart the Street Football League after they return from Qatar. The entire group that was first involved with the project eight years ago has reunited and they’re all keen to continue using the sport as a tool to empower at-risk youth.

One of the coaches, Hazem El Guindi, is back in the fold after missing out on the trip to Russia. He said he was tempted to return to the project after witnessing firsthand the impact the Brazil tournament had on the children. Eight years on, some of the players have now become coaches themselves, while others have picked up other jobs.

El Guindi feels he can help the programme beyond the trip to Qatar, using his experience in sports law to create a more sustainable project.

“As a lawyer, I’ve recently become heavily involved in sports law and have a much better understanding of the field and how sport is governed in the country, which can help us ensure there is continuity to this project and find ways to benefit these kids when they return from the World Cup, in a legal established entity or NGO,” El Guindi said.

“Setting up a league in the right way for example for these kids; I feel my experiences as a sports lawyer can help with that.”

The 2022 Street Child World Cup will take place from October 3–14 at Qatar Foundation’s Education City in Doha.

*To follow the journey or support Team Egypt at the Street Child World Cup in Qatar, visit Nafas’ Instagram page here.

Results
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Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

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UAE v IRELAND

All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi

1st ODI, Friday, January 8

2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10

3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12

4th ODI, Thursday, January 14

While you're here
Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)

Power: 141bhp 

Torque: 250Nm 

Price: Dh64,500

On sale: Now

How green is the expo nursery?

Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery

An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo

Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery

Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape

The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides

All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality

Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country

Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow

Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site

Green waste is recycled as compost

Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs

Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers

About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer

Main themes of expo is  ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.

Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic

Power: 169bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Price: Dh54,500

On sale: now

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GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Expo details

Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia

The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.

It is expected to attract 25 million visits

Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.

More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020

The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area

It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South

Various Artists 
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

The five new places of worship

Church of South Indian Parish

St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch

St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch

St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais

Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais

 

Kalra's feat
  • Becomes fifth batsman to score century in U19 final
  • Becomes second Indian to score century in U19 final after Unmukt Chand in 2012
  • Scored 122 in youth Test on tour of England
  • Bought by Delhi Daredevils for base price of two million Indian rupees (Dh115,000) in 2018 IPL auction
UAE WARRIORS RESULTS

Featherweight

Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)

TKO round 2

Catchweight 90kg

Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)

Split points decision

Welterweight

Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)

TKO round 1

Flyweight (women)

Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)

Unanimous points decision

Lightweight

Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)

TKO round 1

Catchweight 100kg

Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)

Rear neck choke round 1

Featherweight

James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)

TKO round 2

Welterweight

Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)

TKO round 1

Middleweight

Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)

Unanimous points decision

Bantamweight

Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)

Unanimous points decision

Welterweight

Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)

TKO round 1

Bantamweight

Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)

TKO round 3

Lightweight

Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)

TKO round 1

Middleweight

Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)

Submission round 2

Lightweight

Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)

TKO round 2

Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
  1. Join parent networks
  2. Look beyond school fees
  3. Keep an open mind
Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces

 

  • Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
  • Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
  • Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
  • Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
  • Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

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Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

Match info

Karnataka Tuskers 110-3

J Charles 35, M Pretorius 1-19, Z Khan 0-16

Deccan Gladiators 111-5 in 8.3 overs

K Pollard 45*, S Zadran 2-18

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

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Top tips

Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
 

The Equaliser 2

Director Antoine Fuqua

Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders

Three stars

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Tuesday's fixtures
Group A
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Iran v Uzbekistan, 8pm
N Korea v UAE, 10.15pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The lowdown

Rating: 4/5

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WHAT IS GRAPHENE?

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. 

Why seagrass matters
  • Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
  • Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
  • Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
  • Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Green ambitions
  • Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
  • Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
  • Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
  • Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water 

The Florida Project

Director: Sean Baker

Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe

Four stars

Updated: July 02, 2022, 4:00 AM`