Al Ahly

By Andy Richardson in Africa on February 5th, 2012
Al Masry fans remember those who died [Andy Richardson]

Al Ahly is a football club that has long been famous as a focal point for patriotism and political discussion.

Right now it is a meeting point for grief.

Families of the dead gather for shared comfort at the team's Cairo social club. Former and current players offer what support they can. Hundreds line up to sign a book of condolence. The future is something this club are struggling to contemplate. Remembering the fans who didn't return home from that fateful game in Al Masry is their only focus for now.

In Al Masry's hometown of Port Said, pitches stand empty. All local leagues have been suspended as a mark of respect. 

Here the local supporters talk of being unfairly vilifiied, that the disaster was the consequence of a police plot. Some tell us they are now afraid to drive out of the city. Anyone with a Port Said number plate on their car is liable to be attacked, they say.

By Paul Rhys in Africa on January 23rd, 2010
Photo from GALLO/GETTY

"You don't grass on your mates." That's a lesson I learned through the stony glare of a fellow 13-year-old on a day at school I'd rather have forgotten.

Harsh early experiences teach us not to do it again. Unfortunately, one Angolan journalist has only just learned his lesson after an encounter with national team coach Manuel Jose.

For the uninitiated, "grassing" is telling on someone. Pointing the finger. Whistle-blowing. Snitching.

Not in a pointing-out-a-heroin-dealer-to-a-policeman sense. That's citizenship.

It's more when someone you know has been a bit roguish or accidentally put a football through a window. You don't tell the teacher or your dad or anyone else who's been asking questions. That's grassing.

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