Fasting Football Friends Battle for Ramadan Premier League Silverware

A goalkeeper tries to catch the ball during the annual Ramadan football tournament match on a dirt field at the Kafr Abd al Mu'min village before an Iftar (breaking fast) meal during the holy month of Ramadan in Dikirnis, Egypt April 13, 2023. (Reuters)
A goalkeeper tries to catch the ball during the annual Ramadan football tournament match on a dirt field at the Kafr Abd al Mu'min village before an Iftar (breaking fast) meal during the holy month of Ramadan in Dikirnis, Egypt April 13, 2023. (Reuters)
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Fasting Football Friends Battle for Ramadan Premier League Silverware

A goalkeeper tries to catch the ball during the annual Ramadan football tournament match on a dirt field at the Kafr Abd al Mu'min village before an Iftar (breaking fast) meal during the holy month of Ramadan in Dikirnis, Egypt April 13, 2023. (Reuters)
A goalkeeper tries to catch the ball during the annual Ramadan football tournament match on a dirt field at the Kafr Abd al Mu'min village before an Iftar (breaking fast) meal during the holy month of Ramadan in Dikirnis, Egypt April 13, 2023. (Reuters)

There are some aspirational prizes being doled out to winners of Ramadan tournaments in Egypt this week, with a team decked out in Liverpool's kit being awarded England's Premier League trophy for their success -- while another is set to receive UEFA Champions League silverware. Sort of.

In the Al-Hussainiya Youth Center in Sharqia Governorate, about 100 kilometers from the birthplace of Mohamed Salah, a side wearing Liverpool's famous red shirts triumphed 5-1 over an outfit kitted out as Arsenal.

The losers were presented with a replica of the African Champions League trophy for their efforts.

"I bought the two cups from a friend who owns a sportswear store for two thousand Egyptian pounds ($65)," Ibrahim Abdel Salam, one of the organizing committee, told Reuters.

Despite the matches being played in humble surroundings, and contested by friends rather than professionals -- or even amateur footballers -- the tournament created more buzz than most Egyptian league clashes.

"The grandstand consists of nearly 2,000 fans, in addition to about 350 seats and nearly 1,000 fans next to each goal," Abdel Salam explained, adding that hundreds were also watching from homes and balconies in the surrounding area.

The tournament had used a version of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) last year -- matches were filmed with mobile phones -- before scrapping it this Ramadan to save time.

But despite the tournament's buzz and popularity, it may not take place next year as the youth center hosting the event wants to replace the playing surface with a swimming pool.

Teams raised banners with "No to demolishing the dirt court" during the tournament.

"There are two artificial turf courts, but we prefer the dirt court," Abdel Salam said.

Meanwhile in El-Beheira governorate the European Champions League trophy appeared up for grabs.

"The Ramadan tournaments have been held for six years, but this time we resorted to an innovative, spontaneous and simple idea, and a huge number of people interacted with it and we were caught by surprise," Mohamed Khalid, who created the idea with Ahmed Rashad, the owner of the playground in the village of Abu Hummus, told Reuters by phone.

"We wanted to reflect the atmosphere of the tournament through pictures of a number of village residents with the trophies in the middle of agricultural lands.

"We raised money from the registered teams to buy replicas of the famous cups," Khalid added, saying he hoped that Liverpool and Egypt striker Salah would see pictures of the tournament and share them with his online fans.



Liverpool Sign Multi-Year Deal with Adidas to Replace Nike 

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates scoring the 2-1 goal during the English Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Southampton FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 08 March 2025. (EPA)
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates scoring the 2-1 goal during the English Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Southampton FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 08 March 2025. (EPA)
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Liverpool Sign Multi-Year Deal with Adidas to Replace Nike 

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates scoring the 2-1 goal during the English Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Southampton FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 08 March 2025. (EPA)
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates scoring the 2-1 goal during the English Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Southampton FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 08 March 2025. (EPA)

Liverpool have signed a multi-year kit deal with Adidas beginning next season that will replace sportswear manufacturer Nike, in what British media reports say is a five-year agreement worth more than 60 million pounds ($77.36 million) per year.

The club have worn Adidas twice before, from 1985 to 1996 and from 2006 to 2012.

"Everyone at the club is incredibly excited to welcome adidas back into the LFC family," Liverpool Chief Executive Billy Hogan said in a statement on Monday.

"We have enjoyed fantastic success together in the past and created some of the most iconic LFC kits of all time. adidas and Liverpool share an ambition of success and we couldn't be more excited to partner together again as we look forward to creating more incredible kits to help drive on pitch performance."

Nike has been Liverpool's kit supplier for the past five seasons.

The partnership will begin from August 1, 2025.