Enab Baladi – Hani Karazi

Syrian sports have lived through decades of darkness under al-Assad’s rule, as the ousted Syrian regime was the primary controller of the national teams and clubs through the General Sports Federation, which was accused of corruption, favoritism, and mismanagement. After Bashar al-Assad’s downfall, voices rose demanding serious steps to return sports in Syria to the right path.

During the reign of the Assad regime, the General Sports Federation faced accusations of losing the football system and failing to achieve positive results, using the security conditions in Syria as an excuse to justify its failures.

The Syrian football league also faced widespread criticism regarding its poor levels and the spread of “corruption and favoritism.” Each incident drew reactions from fans, waves of mockery, and demands to close the league in respect for the observing and anticipating crowds, frequently witnessing outbreaks of fan violence.

Sport clubs in Syria suffered financial distress, and the Football Federation decided in 2022 to postpone the league for all grades and age categories (for football and basketball) due to the deteriorating economic situation, aiming to ease the burden on sports clubs.

The first step

Following the fall of the Assad regime, on December 8, steps began to be considered regarding the urgent and initial actions needed to revive local sports.

Syrian referee expert Firas Muhammad al-Khatib stated that the first required step is to ensure the continuity of the recognized Football Federation under FIFA, avoiding the suspension of sports activities to prevent further sanctions. At the same time, the Syrian Federation should contact the Asian and International Federations to inform them that they will continue working until the end of their mandate or to resign with FIFA’s approval.

Al-Khatib added that the Syrian Sports Federation is also required to assess the financial situation and contact the Asian and International Federations to release some of the frozen funds to continue upcoming commitments.

Following al-Assad’s downfall, FIFA officially recognized the Syrian revolution flag as a replacement for the former regime’s flag.

During the live broadcast of the FIFA Congress meeting to announce the winners of the 2030 and 2034 World Cup hosting bids, the flag of the Syrian revolution appeared behind FIFA President Gianni Infantino among the flags of member states.

Sports journalist Anas Amou stated that the first steps taken by the Syrian Football Federation included formal communication with FIFA to adopt the new flag, and FIFA responded positively, allowing it to be used for the first time at the FIFA Congress.

Amou indicated that efforts are currently underway to notify FIFA of the need to change the national team logo to align with Syria after independence, in addition to contacting the sponsoring company for equipment to change the national team’s jersey and logo.

The Syrian Football Federation modified its logo, removing the previous one that included the flag of the ousted regime, adopting a new logo that features the flag of the Syrian revolution.

Additionally, the Syrian Football Federation published a photo of players wearing the new green Syrian national team jersey, captioning it: “Our national team’s new outfit. The first historic change in Syrian sports, away from favoritism, nepotism, and corruption.”

Amou emphasized the need to focus on building, establishing laws and regulations, and commencing real and fair elections for club administrations and federations, away from politicization and favoritism. “Only then can we consider this the end of the first stage, after which we can move to other aspects, such as developing the technical aspects of clubs and national teams and improving the conditions of facilities and organizing various tournaments.”

In addition to the aforementioned steps, sports journalist Homam Kadar noted that other measures should also be taken now, including removing images of al-Assad from sports facilities and preparing stadiums that had been military barracks or detention centers.

What is the fate of the General Sports Federation?

After completing the initial steps to revive Syrian sports, there are further subsequent steps that are equally important.

Anas Amou mentioned that changing the General Sports Federation is a core demand, but this mission cannot be executed immediately as it could lead to sanctions against Syrian sports from FIFA, prohibiting national teams and clubs from participating in various tournaments.

Amou continued that the solution could be to meet amicably with federation members to propose voluntary resignations; if they refuse, the matter can be escalated to FIFA to open an investigation into all the blatant violations committed by members and leaders of the federation during al-Assad’s reign.

The Syrian Football Federation was established in 1936 and joined FIFA in 1937 and the Asian Football Confederation in 1969, making it one of the oldest football federations in the region.

However, under al-Assad, the General Sports Federation became a tool for the regime to serve its agendas. At the start of the Syrian revolution, the Football Federation turned the Abbasiyyin and Jalaa stadiums in Damascus, the Hamidaniyah stadium in Aleppo, along with the stadiums in Daraa and Deir Ezzor, into detention centers or helicopter landing zones.

The Abbasiyyin stadium was transformed into a military barracks in June 2012, hosting hundreds of soldiers along with dozens of tanks and military vehicles. A video published in February 2018 showed the pitch being converted into bunkers and barricades and the destruction of its stands and surrounding walls.

Justifying weakness and chaos

The administrative errors, poor performance, chaos, and conflicts within the football federation’s system cannot be concealed, as they have always surfaced through unofficial websites and pages, resulting in the Football Federation issuing statements and decisions stating these were merely administrative and logistical mistakes.

In the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the Syrian national team’s delegation faced numerous issues in the UAE, including forgetting four passports for professional players in Damascus, which almost prevented some expatriate players from playing in the Emirates because players arriving from Europe came with their European passports, while their participation in matches required their Syrian passports.

At the time, the Football Federation claimed that the responsibility for the passports was limited to the team’s administrators, pledging to hold them accountable for this administrative error after the news sparked widespread outrage and allegations that the federation was “the last to know about football.”

Firas Maala was the head of the General Sports Federation, and he is the son of Hashim Maala, one of those accused of committing the Hama massacres in the 1980s. Firas was known for supporting the ousted regime’s president, Bashar al-Assad, on every possible occasion.

In September 2018, Maala declared that he was honored to represent Russia in the Master’s-level European Swimming Championship held in the Slovenian city of Kranj, winning a gold medal in the Master’s 5-kilometer European Championship.

His brother, Homam Maala, presided over the Arab Triathlon Federation until 2012, when he resigned “in protest against the Arab conspiracy against Syria,” as stated by the local Sham FM radio on January 30, 2012. He also praised the Syrian Army several times in various media outlets.

The Maala family’s investments were not limited to sports companies. The local site “Telescope Syria,” affiliated with Ali Munir al-Assad, noted in 2011 that the Maala family received a 60-meter plot of land from the Damascus governorate, later adding another 1500 meters illegally in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, leading to the establishment of several sports clubs in that area and the Mazraa area, in addition to the Maala Brothers Academy for swimming in the Eastern Mazzeh area.

Calls for establishing a sports ministry

Football clubs in Syria issued a joint statement on their social media pages, demanding the creation of a ministry of sports.

In the statement dated December 9, they said: “We, all the sports clubs in free Syria, demand the establishment of a ministry of sports to protect athletes and sports facilities and ensure freedom of sports media.”

The statement added, “This ministry will work to assist clubs in benefiting from their investments and ensure stable resources that help elevate all the sports they practice, similar to all advanced countries in sports.”

Anas Amou pointed out that the General Sports Federation is affiliated with the Baath party; therefore, its existence is unacceptable, especially since all sports federations fall under the General Sports Federation. Thus, this institution should be replaced with another entity called the Directorate of Sports and Youth, which grants autonomy to federations. After the situation in Syria stabilizes, this directorate can be transformed into a ministry of sports.

On his part, former Syrian player Yasser al-Siba’i said he is working with fellow expatriate players to form a union for retired footballers.

Al-Siba’i stated via his Facebook account, “We place ourselves in the service of reconstructing sports in the country, especially football, which is our specialty, in any advisory role or task that serves the current and future interests of the country, without looking for any internal or external technical or administrative position, in line with any player based on their experience and status while being abroad.”

He noted that former Syrian national team player Jihad al-Hussein will be in Syria in the coming weeks to work as a representative of this union.

Moreover, Homam Kadar told Enab Baladi that a budget for sports should be allocated “after improving the living conditions of our people,” and called for holding accountable all corrupt individuals in the field of sports during the Assad era through the judiciary.

Kadar demanded the recruitment of sports experts who had worked abroad to benefit from their experience and collaborate with some existing personnel “to have a strong contemporary team that benefits from the expected progress in the new Syria and presents a team that does not glorify any person or chant his spirit but interacts with its people’s causes, particularly humanitarian ones, meaning that it stands in solidarity with its people, not the leader, as has been the case throughout the Assad regime’s rule.”