Gentleman’s Game, Played by Ladies.

By Sarah Iskarous.

“You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed, tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.” 2 Chronicles 20:17

1,978 years after the birth of Christ, Fawzi and Nasser, two members of an anonymous church in London sit sipping black coffee at the local a’hwa watching a World Cup match. They sat joking that one day girls might take on the role of the men and play the wonderful game of football, while the “men” speculated. Twenty-nine years later, in the year 2007 this mockery became a reality.

From the bone-crushing “friendlies” of last year, to the greatest display of athletic ability ever to grace the pitches of Stevenage this year, came the annual COFTA Girls’ Football Tournament. Yes, for this day, and this day only, the girls swapped places with the boys, slicked their hair back, pulled up their football socks and tied up the laces on their football boots and prepared for battle. With mud on our shirts and sweat on our faces, we marched onto the pitch, a wonderful array of colours, while the boys stood at the sideline waving their pom-poms and gathering the water bottles. What a wonderful reversal of roles!

Galloping in all the way from around the corner emerged the team of St. George, Stevenage, led by Captain Minas Shahahta, proud leader of by far the youngest and most spirited team the pitches of COFTA have ever staged. Next marched in the Black Crusaders, a naturally talented and well formed team from Central London representing St. Mark and led by the fearless Lama Matta. From the other corner of London, led by Dina Abadeir, came the Golders Green All Saints from St. Mary and Archangel Michael Church, a fine team of warriors who left nothing but the dust in their tracks for any team that dare take them on. From the South of the country came the yellow and black bumble-bees from St. Mary and Anba Abraam Church in Brighton, causing quite a buzz with their outstanding midfielders, led by Queen bee Nahal Abadi. And finally, twinkle-toeing onto the pitch, led by the soldier Meret Arsanious, came the mighty Coptic Pharies from St. Mary and St. Shenouda Church Croydon, displaying a great example of team work and dedication, which would eventually lead them to victory.

An hour and a half behind schedule didn’t stop the intensity of the first match. We kicked off with Brighton vs. Stevenage. Despite the exceptional attempts from Brighton’s front line, Stevenage simply weren’t having any of it, working outstandingly hard at maintaining a solid defence. Brighton, by far, created the most opportunities for goals throughout the tournament, but unfortunately failed to follow through, whilst Stevenage battled through, game after game, yet sustaining their innate sense of fun, keeping the spirits high and the games friendly. End result, nil-nil, as were most of the games played that day.

Next match, Golders Green vs. Croydon. Golders Green displayed a protective back line and their faster-that-lightening striker Nermine Abdelsaid, aka Speedy Gonzalez, kept the Croydon on their toes. The Croydon team however cleared up any misconceptions that came with their name; though Pharies by name, they proved to be soldiers by nature. This was evident in the solidarity of their back line, and the dedication of their midfield. This teamwork led to the first goal of the tournament, against Stevenage, with a 2-0 win, putting Croydon at the top of the table, reigniting Corydon’s team of a triumph. This dream was to be abruptly crushed however by the mighty Kensington, who made an epic come back in the last match of the tournament against Stevenage. First half: Kensington lead 1-0, leaving Croydon at the edge of their seats. Second half: St. Kensington stole the game winning 2-0 and climbing up to meet the Pharies at the top.

In by-far the most thrilling part of the tournament, Croydon and Kensington went head-to-head in a penalty shoot out. By this time, the earth was in complete darkness and the pitch lit up by a single set of car headlights… and so the penalties commenced:… hit… hit… miss… miss… it seemed that the talents of Croydon and Kensington were truly levelled. Mariam Tadros and Sarah Henien, two solid goal keepers put their all into ensuring that no goals got past them, but as penalties turned into “sudden-death”, a fatal error from the last Kensington shooter, coupled with a quick response from the Croydon goal keeper, secured a win for the mighty Coptic Pharies from St Mary and St Shenouda Church, Croydon.

The tournament, however, was not all about goal scoring and trophies. We were gathered with the understanding that Christ brings us together in His name, for one purpose…fellowship. The Bible study led by HG Bishop Angaelos, reminded us of who we are by asking ourselves the question Christ posed to Peter one day in Caesarea, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). By answering Jesus’ question the way Peter did, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16), we are effectively telling the world who we are. Though on this day we were the Coptic Pharies, the Golders Green All-Saints or St. George’s Pink Army, together we were the children of Christ, the Son of the Living God, which is more powerful and more important than a trophy or championship title.

I, for one, was very concerned (and often voiced it to our team) that the girls’ tournament would bring nothing but trouble, and the girls (unlike the boys) would not take an accidental shove on the pitch as just that- accidental. But we did ourselves proud girls! There was no unnecessary agitation, no serious disagreements, and no broken ankles (Minas!)… and why? Because we were all gathered for the right purpose, in Christ’s name, for the purpose of fellowship and unity.

Football was, for once, a gentlemen’s game played by real gentlemen.

Well done ladies!