Photos: In Mo Salah’s Egyptian village, the Liverpool star is a super hero
Updated On May 25, 2018 01:50 PM IST
There is perhaps no place in Egypt that shows more passion for the English Premier League and the Champions League than Mohamed Salah’s hometown village of Nagrig. Residents boast of how the Liverpool winger has poured millions of pounds into the village, children and teens wear Salah jerseys, his image adorns walls, ornaments and cafes and residents are deeply protective of his name. In trying times of political and economic uncertainty, Salah brings hope, joy and pride to the Egyptian nation.
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Updated on May 25, 2018 01:50 PM IST
The adulation is on clear display at Mohamed Salah’s native village of Nagrir in the Nile Delta, Egypt. A large number of children and teenagers wear Salah jerseys, his image is on a wall mural at the village’s sports and youth center and residents are deeply appreciative of their hero and protective of his name. (Nariman El-Mofty / AP)
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Updated on May 25, 2018 01:50 PM IST
There is perhaps no place in Egypt that shows more passion for the English Premier League and the Champions League than Nagrig. Many of the village’s teenagers play barefooted at the pitch in the youth center where Salah is known to have played the game as a young boy -- strewn with litter but still accessible through a collapsed part of its outer wall. (Nariman El-Mofty / AP)
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Updated on May 25, 2018 01:50 PM IST
Men watch a Liverpool vs. Roma match in Nagrig. “Five or six years ago, only a few people in the village were interested in European football,” said Shady Dawoud, a distant Salah relative. “Now, almost the entire village, old and young alike, know about Liverpool and Roma as well as the schedule for Salah’s matches. So much has changed here because of Salah, may God protect him.” (Nariman El-Mofty / AP)
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Boys play at the sports and youth center in Nagrig. “Salah is no longer just a talented and skilled football player. He is a symbol of efficiency, thoroughness, respect, learning, morals and moderate religion,” wrote Imad Hussein, editor of the independent Al-Shorouk daily. “He presents a glowing picture of Egyptians, Arabs and Muslims... that most of us are incapable of offering.” (Nariman El-Mofty/ AP)
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Salah, residents boast with pride, has poured millions into the village, with the beneficiaries’ list including a school, a mosque, the youth center, a nearby hospital and financial aid to poor families. His success has inspired many parents in Nagrig, as elsewhere in Egypt, to send their children to football academies. (Nariman El-Mofty / AP)
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Salah’s impact in Egypt goes way beyond the money he has poured into his village. This year, his image is on lanterns traditionally given to children or used as ornaments during Ramzan. Traders have given his name to a kind of date and his appearance in a short anti-drugs film has sent the number of calls addicts made to help lines through the roof. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh / REUTERS)
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Men watch a Liverpool vs. Roma match at a cafe in Nagrig. Many Egyptians and commentators believe Salah is giving his compatriots hope and joy at a time when the majority is struggling to make ends meet amid acute economic hardships caused by an ambitious economic reform program to revive the battered economy. (Nariman El-Mofty / AP)
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