Link to the Episode – http://traffic.libsyn.com/btpmedia/OWS.12232015.mp3

​One World Sports: Concussions, Kafala and Closing the Gap in Middle East

Featuring Omar Al Raisi and Hamoudi Fayad

As many of the top European leagues move to the holiday break and the winter transfer window begins to open for business, we take a step back to address two very big issues in world football while opening the window to football in the Middle East with a new partner. First up is attorney and youth coach Derek Howard who served as Co-Lead Counsel, representing the plaintiffs in a ground breaking soccer concussion lawsuit in the United States that delivered common sense regulations to exposing youth players to the act of heading a soccer ball. This week head injury in sports is being discussed once against in North America as a new movie titled, Concussion, hit theaters nationwide and it once again sparks much debate about how science has opened a deeper understanding of how concussive and sub-concussive hits affect the brain, especially in our youngest people where the damage can be even more extensive.  Then in part two of this episode, UEA sports journalist Omar Al Raisi and Hamoudi Fayad , the co-founder of Ahdaaf.me, give us a view of Middle Eastern football including a first look at Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE as the key benchmark nations for the region and how kafala continues to dominate perceptions of the region as the 2022 World Cup has magnified the debate (minute 24:00 of the podcast). Some important topics in this episode and an introduction to a new partner who will deliver us even further insight into a fascinating part of the world and its football.

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About Hamoudi

The man behind the idea of Ahdaaf.me. Based in Dubai, Hamoudi will bring you an unprecedented level of coverage of the Alfa Lebanese League in English as well as the best of the UAE’s Arabian Gulf League. With dreams of working in the coaching industry in the near future, don’t be surprised by the amount of tactical analysis that he works on to bring in a modern day feel to the very scarce analysis on Middle Eastern Football. (PS: Beware of his rants about the ignominious status of football in his native country Lebanon…).

• Persian Gulf Pro League Preview: 2016/17 Season - July 28, 2016
• SCOUT REPORT: Akram Afif - July 28, 2016
• Jordanian Football – A minor setback or the end of a successful period? - July 17, 2016
• The Dark Future of Kuwait Football - June 4, 2016
• The Birth, Death and Re-Birth of Lebanese Football - March 29, 2016
• Khamis Esmail registration mistake not the first in UAE Football - March 9, 2016
• TACTICAL ANALYSIS: AL-NASSR 1-1 AL-AHLI - February 16, 2016
• FOOTBALL MANAGER 2016: MIDDLE EASTERN VERSION - February 6, 2016
• BEST GOALS: AFC U-23 CHAMPIONSHIP - February 3, 2016
• FRIDAY WITH… BILAL AHMAD - January 8, 2016