The security concept works within the bubble – in the halls and hotels of the World Cup. Outside, life in Egypt is more turbulent than anywhere else.
Photo: AFP / Anne-Christine Poujoulat
How big the discrepancy is between the hustle and bustle on the streets of Cairo and the World Cup in this city becomes clear during the drive from the Hassan Moustafa Hall back to one of four “bubble” hotels. People have made themselves pretty to start the evening, business is booming in the cafés. It seems strange for Europeans to watch the goings-on in the streets on the Nile, which has nothing to do with the current reality of life in Berlin, Paris or London. There are people who wear a mask but they are outnumbered, although there is an obligation to wear a mouth and nose cover in Egypt. The police are trying to enforce the order, but have no chance against the majority of the almost ten million inhabitants of the capital.
This is different within the handball bladder. Prior to the start of the World Cup in Egypt, there were reservations about holding this tournament while a pandemic rages in the world. 32 teams from four continents are now in Egypt, plus several hundred officials, media representatives and World Cup helpers around whom an imaginary protective fence has been drawn. Before entering the interior, there were a few corona cases, so many among the teams in the USA and the Czech Republic that they were exchanged shortly before the start of the World Cup. Isolated infections also appeared after the start, until Monday evening the World Cup bubble was now without any further case. The feeling of security increases, the belief that the precautionary measures work increases.
“On the tram in Mannheim you can see more people who do not wear the mask correctly,” reports Uwe Gensheimer of his observations. The captain of the German national team now feels like his teammates in the bubble and is impressed by the learning ability of the organizers on site. On arrival, the German delegation criticized individual things in their hotel within sight of the Giza pyramids, and within a short time the improvement requests were met. At the beginning of the tournament, not all processes were perfect to make the World Cup as safe as possible, but the Egyptians are learning at a great speed.
However, some key points have been in effect since day one. The four huge hotels, in which all 32 teams, the media representatives, officials of the world association and helpers are accommodated, may only be left for trips to the halls. A large number of security personnel, police and military secure the accommodations and the venues. Nobody gets in unseen, nobody is allowed out without permission. It takes up to half an hour before a shuttle bus is allowed to leave the hotel complex; first several institutions have to give the green light for the transfer. The hotel complexes are large, in them there are many people in a small space, which seems strange after the experiences in Germany in the past few months. But all safety measures are observed and kept at a distance. A high security zone has been built around the bubble.
The effort that is being made at this World Cup to keep the coronavirus out of the bladder is enormous. The concept, which was continuously refined in the months before the start of the World Cup with the participation of the major European handball nations with Germany at the top, applies in many points. All tournament participants are sealed off from the outside world, direct contact with the outside world is not possible. The large number of security personnel would be inconceivable at a similar event in Germany. The human resources that the organizer and the authorities in Egypt make available are impressive – the will to convince the rest of the world of your own abilities is palpable.
Yara Abdallah is also motivated. She received visitors a few days ago, at least some kind of visit. The 29-year-old stood on the balcony on the sixth floor of her hotel in central Cairo and looked down at the street, where two women waved to her from a black car. “These are my mother and my aunt,” says the young woman. A few seconds later, the brief family happiness was over, the security forces in front of the heavy gate in the driveway of the hotel asked to continue driving.
Yara Abdallah has to wait two more weeks before she can see her family up close, because she is one of many hundreds of helpers at the World Cup. Like everyone involved in the tournament in the greater Cairo area, she is shielded from the outside world for the duration of the games. “We knew what to expect,” says Abdallah. On January 9th, she moved into her room on the sixth floor, was tested for the first time and from then on at least every 72 hours for the Covid 19 pathogen and went into the World Cup bubble. A few days later, the handball world followed.
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