Arab Cup of Ice Hockey, 16th-20th June 2008

[La-Casbah_com]

7th - 15th of June Abu Dhabi.

Algeria, Morocco, Kuwait, UAE.

Algeria - Final Roster for Arab Cup

Ghurani
D. Hamri (A)
Boulakdem
Bouslama
Zitouni (A)
Sebaa
Zouaoui
Y.Hamri
Litim
Bouhadouf (C)
Fahas
Chaiblaine
Benyahia
Mahdidi
Djemai
Belarbi
Kerbouche (A)
Boukhaloua

[Bent_Bladi]

long time no see, homes

[La-Casbah_com]

dates have been changed from 16th - 20th due to it coinciding with another national event.

and hello bent bladi

[La-Casbah_com]

Chaiblaine and Zouaoui out, Choubane and Kerdougli in.

[La-Casbah_com]

Hockey oases in the Sahara

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 36° C (97° F) in the daytime, 28° C (82° F) in the night. That’s the weather forecast for next week. A good time to have siesta, or to be in air-conditioned shopping malls or hotels during the day as a visitor. Some like it even chillier: From Monday, the inaugural Arab Cup, a four-nation ice hockey tournament, will be played in Abu Dhabi. A milestone for hockey in this area.

National teams from Algeria, Kuwait, Morocco and the host nation United Arab Emirates will participate in the tournament. The hosts are, hockey-wise, the most known of the four nations. They are the only IIHF member of those four and an annual international tournament is held in Dubai, an event which from time to time includes European amateur teams. The host club is known for its awesome name, the Dubai Mighty Camels.

Also Kuwait is no stranger. After they had left international ice hockey due to a lack of activities, they participated in the 2007 Asian Games. In contrast, Algeria and Morocco will debut in Abu Dhabi. So let’s take a look on the rookie countries, which bring ice hockey to North Africa.

Ice hockey in Rabat’s Mega Mall

For Morocco, the Arab Cup comes just three years after the opening of the first and so far only ice rink in a shopping mall in Rabat, Morocco’s capital. Khalid Mrini is the president of the club Rabat Capitals. After having lived in the Canadian province of Quebec and learned to love ice hockey there, he brought the sport back to his native country with his brother Mimoun.

“Our team consists of young Moroccans together with compatriots from Quebec, Ontario, England and Sweden,” he says. “Four or five play on semi-pro level, the others are amateurs.” It will be the first time that a senior national team is formed while a team of kids from Morocco participated in a 2006 pee-wee tournament in Quebec. It was the first time that an Arab team played there and it was the first team from North Africa in an international tournament.

Beside the Capitals, there are two Moroccan clubs playing in Rabat: Les Ifis and the Falcons. A fourth one, the Cobras, is formed of kids from staff members of the American, British and Canadian embassy. More ice rinks are expected to open in Rabat, Casablanca, Khouribga, Marrakech and Fes.

“The Arab Cup is very important for us because we’re in the phase of learning and we want to show that we’re seriously looking for international competition,” explains Mrini, who is also manager of the Moroccan national team. His team has practised in the 150-seater arena in Rabat before the departure to the Emirates.

Algeria has a team, but no rink - yet

Algeria will be the other debutant in international ice hockey next week. While their Moroccan neighbours could prepare in their country, Algeria has no ice arena yet and is holding a training camp in London, Great Britain, before heading to Abu Dhabi. “We had some temporary ice rinks in Algeria to show our sport to the public and we also have inline hockey,” says Algerian national team player Karim Kerbouche describing the current situation.

As there’s no ice in Algeria yet, the national team is made up of players of Algerian nationality who live and play abroad. Algeria gained independence from French colonial rule in 1962. Many Algerians emigrated to France or Quebec, and many more did during the Algerian Civil War from 1991 to 2002.

Thus, most players come from France and the region of Montreal. Some of them are hockey pros like Djamel Zitouni, who plays in the highest French league for Épinal, or Yassine Fahas, who also plays in the Ligue Magnus, for Dijon. The most-known Algerian is missing with Malik Benturqui, who once played in the highest Swiss league and last season in the second-tier National League B for Lausanne.

Algerian sportsmen are no rarity in France. Some well-known French footballers like meanwhile-retired Zinedine Zidane are of Algerian descent.

“The Algerian television will cover the Arab Cup. Afterwards, we expect to return to Algeria and do various TV shows and possibly we’ll meet the Algerian president,” Kerbouche says.

The players hope that an ice rink will be built like in Morocco but right now, they’re focused on their international debut on Monday against Kuwait. Kerbouche: “This is huge for the Algerian team. We finally get to show the world who we are. We feel it’s the start of great things for Algerian ice hockey and a dream comes true for all involved.”

Before the inaugural Arab Cup has started, the 2009 edition is already planned. It will be in Kuwait City’s arena.

MARTIN MERK

[Al-khiyal]

Adding spice to ice in the desert

June 15, 2008 -- It might be the middle of the summer, but do not be surprised to see one group of people heading to the capital in woolly hats, scarves and gloves.

Before anyone questions whether they have taken leave of their senses however, there lies a simple explanation behind the desire to dress up warmly in even warmer conditions; the first ever Arab Cup of Ice Hockey gets under way today in what is being seen as a major test of a fledgling sport in the Middle East.

Four countries – the UAE, Kuwait, Morocco and Algeria are competing for the title of inaugural Arab ice hockey champions at the Abu Dhabi ice rink at Sheikh Zayed sports city and while the competition will undoubtedly be fierce, organisers insist that no sporting cliche is intended when they claim that it is not just about winning.

Mohammed Arif, organiser of the tournament and a member of the UAE team said: “Ice hockey is not usually associated with Arab countries and the kind of weather conditions that we live in.

“We are very aware of that and it might even seem funny to some that there will be fans sitting inside the rink in hats and gloves while it is extremely hot outside.

“But this tournament is about trying to showcase our sport and show people that there are Arabs in the middle east who can play ice hockey. It’s not about who wins this tournament, but about showing the public in the UAE what ice hockey is about.”

Arif first came up with the idea of an Arab ice hockey cup last summer and contacted fellow Arab and north African players via email. The Morocco team has been specifically put together for the tournament after players learnt about it through the internet.

Ice hockey in the UAE and the surrounding region has traditionally been dominated by expatriates from North America or Europe, who have established leagues and clubs.

It is only in the last few years that a small but significant number of local players have emerged after becoming interested in the sport either while studying in North America or attending international schools.

There are about 50 Emirati players representing local ice hockey clubs compared to an estimated 200 expatriates.

While the tournament does not have full recognition from the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the sport’s governing body, it has provided referees for the tournament and match observers.

The UAE and Kuwait are both associate members of the IIHF and officials attended its annual meeting earlier this year to reveal plans for the Arab Cup.

UAE coach Yura Faikov, who comes from Belarus said: “When we told the IIHF about our plans, lots of members came to us and asked us how can we play ice hockey in a desert country? They couldn’t believe it, but the IIHF have given us a lot of support.”

In an attempt to maintain high playing standards, the IIHF has also given special permission for the national teams to use a small number of foreign players who are associated with their local clubs.

A number of full-time professionals from Belarus play for ice hockey clubs in the UAE while teams such as Morocco and Algeria have some French and Canadian players.

For the other countries involved, it is a similar tale of trying to establish a presence and develop a sport that is still in its infancy within the Arab world.

Khalid Mrini, the acting president of the Moroccan national team revealed that they only started playing the sport in 2005 and that there is not a single major ice rink in the country – only temporary sheets of ice erected in some shopping malls.

The Algerian national team was formed only five years ago after Karim Kerbouche, the acting president, contacted players of Algerian descent in clubs around the world via the internet.

The big question facing tournament organisers, however, is how the public responds.

The Abu Dhabi ice rink has undergone a Dh15 million refurbishment for the tournament while the UAE team recently received funding from the Abu Dhabi Sports Council as part of its long-term aim of trying to promote the sport in the country and get more youngsters involved.

Arif said: “It has been very difficult trying to get the local public involved. It’s a great game of skill and tactics and hopefully the people of UAE will come along to support their national team.”

[Married2Dz]

I love hockey and it's great that this will take place in the Arab world. Algeria all the way!!

Does anyone know where I can find the scores online (in english or french, i might be able to me out enough arabic, but not sure)?

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Vive l'Algerie!