MAGAZINE

The World Watches

"It's just like watching Brazil" is a chant often heard ringing around football grounds. But in Lebanon during the 2006 World Cup it was just like being in Brazil.

Children running around wearing the famous yellow shirt, people samba-ing on the streets -a slice of the Copacabana had come to Beirut. And the sheer number of shirts and flags showing support for England, Italy, Spain and Germany (to name but a few) illustrated the passion the Lebanese have for football.

With a number of cable channels readily available, the Lebanese are fortunate to be able to watch a wide range of Premier League matches and indeed many do. Patrick Makhoul, a 20-year-old Liverpool fan, believes that number is growing all the time:

"When I walk through my university I see people wearing jerseys from the Premiership, the Italian league and the Spanish League. While it's difficult to estimate how many people are interested in the Premiership, I'd say it's maybe as much as 40 per cent or 50 per cent.

Passion

"I became interested in the Premiership because of the support from the fans and the passion shown by the players. One club stood out for me and that was Liverpool. I was attracted by the passion shown by the players and fans alike. Nothing beats a Man United v. Liverpool match."

Support for Premier League clubs is not matched by passion for local teams. Football in Lebanon comes a poor second to basketball - where the national team regularly make the World Championships and there are huge sums of money put into the game.

Lebanon have never made the World Cup finals, although they did come close in 2006. Had they beaten Vietnam they would have gone through to the second group qualifying stage instead of Korea.

Lebanese student, Jean Moukarzel, admits that football in his own country doesn't arouse the same excitement.

Eric Cantona

"Our own league is less supported and watched than foreign leagues," he said. "I don't think it can get better, because the Lebanese have chosen their sport - basketball.

"I support Manchester United, because of Eric Cantona. I fell in love with him when I was a kid while watching a game he was playing for United. I've been a fan since.

"The television coverage of the Premiership is really good. Big games are always on live and you can often enjoy smaller games too. From what I've noticed more and more people are interested in the Premier League."

This growth is illustrated by the new broadcast deal signed by Showtime Arabia. Their agreement will see more than 760 hours of live Premier League football broadcast a season as well as over 500 hours of live studio coverage, with commentary available in both Arabic and English.

While their own football clubs might not be well supported, it is worth noting that the legendary Pele once played a friendly for top club Nejmeh. A Lebanese footballer did once come close to the Barclays Premier League. Pierre Issa was at Chelsea on loan but never made an appearance for the Blues. The former Marseille star also spent the 2001/02 season at Watford in the old Division One. Though Lebanese, he played for South Africa, going to the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

The official broadcaster of the Barclays Premier League in Lebanon is Showtime Arabia. Three Sports channels are on the network with commentary available in both Arabic and English.
http://www.showtimearabia.com/Default_en_gb.aspx