A wish of an old fan of Al-Saqr Club

I am not sure if the match between Al-Saqr and Al-Ahly Sana’a was the first match to be held at Al-Saqr Stadium and not Al-Shuhada Stadium, but it was the first match I attended at Al-Nay Stadium in Bir Pasha. In those days, Salah returned from Sana’a, and I entered with him into Al-Saqr Stadium. The western stands were ready, and because I was the youngest fan who came from the village to Bir Pasha, I entered with Salah among the fans of Al-Ahly Sana’a so that I would not get lost.

The match ended with a score of 1-0, in favor of Al-Ahly Sana'a. I did not feel angry about the result, but the mockery and gloating that I found from Al-Ahly fans would make me take a stand against Al-Ahly Sana'a in the following sports seasons. In that match, I heard an old fan say to the other fans who came from Sana'a: "We took the three points from their nest." They kept going around this saying and mocking it. I almost suffocated, and I did not dare to leave the place alone. I was young and I was afraid of leaving the village people and getting lost in Bir Pasha.

When I grew up and left Taiz to study media in Sana'a, I used to support Al-Wahda Sana'a when they played Al-Ahly, and the first match I would attend in the capital's stadiums was at Al-Dharafi Stadium. On that day, I went to the stadium with my uncle Amer, who supports Al-Ahly. Because I am a stranger to Sana'a, my uncle was afraid that I would get lost in the stadium, so he took me with him to the stands designated for Al-Ahly fans. When Al-Wahda scored the first goal, I shouted alone: "Goal!" They looked at me with looks that were flying sparks, so I said: "Offside."

In those days, the poster distributed by the sports newspaper was hanging in our room. It was a poster of Al-Saqr Club, the league champion, and the picture would remain for years, until we left Sana’a in 2013. I returned to Taiz and my uncle went abroad.

I have a long history with sports.. with Al-Saqr Club I have the largest share of memories.. Al-Harwi and Al-Nahari are the most prominent administrative names that accompany us on the field, and the great name that runs the first sports institution in Yemen, Shawqi Ahmed Hael, memories with the players, the Ethiopian Anwar Yassin in his beginnings, Yordanos at the height of his brilliance, Paulo, the Iraqi goalkeeping coach Bashar Abdul Jalil, Ahmed Rami and the great one we love, Jaem Nasser, Fahd Rashid and Sami Al-Tam, Al-Hilali and Al-Aqel, Al-Amqi and Al-Aroumi, Siraj and Al-Barawi, Fahmi and Taher..... and others.

I have memories of sports newspapers, their titles, including the newspaper that I published. One day, sports journalist Sadiq Hamama wrote an article in Al-Riyadh newspaper in which he attacked Al-Saqr. I remember the response that came on the last page of the club’s newspaper: Al-Saqr “sad” Hamama. For your information, sports newspapers are the best arenas for displaying linguistic skills and the science of rhetoric.

I see the falcon returning to its peak, and memories and wishes keep coming back.
One of the wishes: rebuilding the stadium with international specifications, and a high capacity for fans, as this governorate loves life, in addition to the fact that Taiz tops the list of Yemeni governorates in terms of population density, and despite that, it does not have an international stadium, even the Taiz International Stadium project will soon reach the age of seventy, and we do not know its picture!

We trust Shawqi Hael and his ability to raise the required funding to build Al-Saqr Club, even if our project - for the club and for Taiz - has specifications slightly lower than Camp Nou and the Bernabeu. We are convinced of what happened.