{"id":17378,"date":"2024-04-03T18:00:23","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T18:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/03\/how-european-soccer-made-peace-with-fasting-during-ramadan\/"},"modified":"2024-04-03T18:00:23","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T18:00:23","slug":"how-european-soccer-made-peace-with-fasting-during-ramadan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/03\/how-european-soccer-made-peace-with-fasting-during-ramadan\/","title":{"rendered":"How European Soccer Made Peace With Fasting During Ramadan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Youseff Chippo had a secret.<\/p>\n

A few months into his life as a soccer pro in Europe, Chippo, a Moroccan midfielder, was pushing to prove himself and didn\u2019t want to do anything that might hurt his chances of success. That included revealing he was fasting for Ramadan, a normal practice for the world\u2019s billion Muslims but not in the locker room of Portugal\u2019s F.C. Porto in the winter of 1997.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s double practice sessions \u2014 morning and afternoon \u2014 were arduous. Taking part while going without food and water from sunup to sundown made things harder. Eventually, after enduring days of dizziness and headaches in silence, Chippo came clean, and the club quickly put together a plan to preserve his energy and his health.<\/p>\n

For decades, though, other Muslim players found teams to be less accommodating, at least officially. So in a sport where continuous play and a lack of substitutions offer little opportunity for a mid-game trip to the bench, those players have long relied instead on resourcefulness and improvised solutions to break their fasts: teammates who faked or embellished<\/a> injuries<\/a> just after sundown to buy a moment for their Muslim colleagues to rush to the sideline; a few dates or a sugary drink slipped into a hand by a staff member at the appointed hour; trainers rushing out to attend to an injured knee carrying a kit curiously well-stocked with bananas.<\/p>\n

But more recently, soccer, which once saw fasting by Muslim players as something to be discouraged or criticized<\/a>, is actively changing its ways. In a shift that reflects both the increasing prevalence and the soaring value of soccer\u2019s Muslim stars, some of the world\u2019s richest leagues and teams \u2014 with one notable exception<\/a> \u2014 have moved to fully embrace Ramadan fasts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n