Street Soccer..........

My son Izzat is 13 this year and he is so crazy about soccer. He was only 4 when he was already able to recognize countries and players which competed in 1998 world cup tournament . He is the no1 Manchester United fan and he knows everything about MU . He has collected many MU items like T-shirts, key chain, muffler, pencils, pens, caps and pics of MU players. He even has an ambition to go to U of Manchester after high school, InsyaAllah.

He is not only a soccer craze but he's been into soccer since he was small and now he is a skillful player and always scores goals whenever he plays at school or at home. My house backhome has 'bigger' compound compares with other houses (mine is corner lot) which makes it a 'soccer centre' in the evening.

where's the ball ????

I remember the first evening we were here in Amman, a few arab boys came and invited Izzat to play soccer with them. Izzat was a bit shy at first but when I said go play and mix with them....what a bless for Izzat to have friends who love soccer.I thought they were playing in the field but Izzat came back telling me they were playing at an empty parking lot nearby. Then sometimes izzat and his friends play soccer at my house which has bigger area(tak besar mana pun tapi rumah lain has smaller area) .Later on I learnt that there is no soccer field in Amman and many schools do not have fields. Izzat's school only has a field made of concrete. So street soccer is common in Jordan. If you go out in the evening or at night (they play at night during spring and summer ) you can see many boys play soccer in between apartment buildings, at car parks (usually they make sure the carparks are empty ) and on the roads.

Street soccer in Jordan is coming up to be the no 1 outdoor sport . Despite the lack of sport facilities , the Faisali Club of Jordan won the arab countries champion league in 2006. The boys and Izzat are very excited when they know that the Faisaly's goalkeeper is now living behind my house but Izzat has yet to get his autograph because that goalkeeper is seldom at home.

Well, I'm glad that Izzat can still enjoy soccer even without green-trimmed-carpet like grass here in Amman ,Jordan.....( forget to mention ... with street soccer so many balls have been the victims of sharp fences....................)