Meet Egypt’s Christian soccer team
As Christian football players continue to be rejected from clubs playing in the Egyptian league, the Je Suis team opened the door for these talents to continue doing what they are passionate about.
Je Suis (I Am) Club is the first football team established initially to fight sectarian discrimination against real talents in Egypt. Mina Bendary, a Christian soccer player, is the founder of the team. Although Bendary is a talented soccer player, he suffered repeated rejections from clubs in the Alexandria governorate.
He succeeded in playing on the Alexandrian Union Club in 2015, but he was asked to play under the name "Ibrahim" because Mina is known as a Christian name. He played with the club for six months and was registered with the Egyptian Football Association.
Bendary told Al-Monitor, “The turning point in my life was when my colleagues and the church blamed me for accepting this situation (changing my name), so I decided to have my own team to embrace the talents of Christian players who are suffering from the same problem and to help them follow their dreams.”
“This problem is not a new one; it has been there for decades and there are no legal rules stating this frankly. Sports are meant to be for all people despite color, race, sex or even religion,” he said.
