The Muslimah Sports Association football group

Supporting Muslim Athletes

 

Supporting Muslim Athletes

For the world’s more than 1.6 billion Muslims, Ramadan marks a period of fasting from dawn until sunset, Muslims refrain from consuming food, drinking liquids, smoking.

Muslims are also instructed to refrain from sinful behaviour that may negate the reward of fasting, such as false speech (insulting, backbiting, cursing, lying, etc.) and fighting.

Food and drink is served daily, before dawn and after sunset. Spiritual rewards for fasting are also believed to be multiplied within the month of Ramadan. Fasting for Muslims during Ramadan typically includes the increased offering of prayers and recitation of the Quran.

Ramadan also teaches Muslims how to better practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate; thus encouraging actions of generosity and compulsory charity.

  • If a member of your club/league has made you aware they are fasting offer them the opportunity to abstain from the practical activities.
  • If you are unsure if the learner is fasting check the register first if Islam is their chosen faith, a quiet word will suffice offering them the opportunity to participate in any practical or not
  • Most Muslims fasting during Ramadan will have to perform prayers can you check if there is a suitable room at the venue where they can perform this, the one prayer during the day which they might have to perform will be between 1.15pm and 2.15pm; please allow dispensation for prayer times. https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/ramadan/ramadan-timetable/
  • Muslims are expected during Ramadan to perform night prayers if there is a pattern of lateness this might be due to the fact they will not sleep till 4am! However this should not be used an excuse for lateness but maybe a mitigating factor
  • World class coaching/support begins with attention to detail. The greeting for this period is ‘Ramadan Mubarak’ or ‘Ramadan Kareem’ roughly translated means ‘Have a blessed Ramadan’

Start date Sunday 10 March or Monday 11th March, while the day of Eid which marks the end of Ramadan will either be 10 April or 11 April, the reason for this is that the Islamic faith runs on a lunar calendar and is dependent on the sighting of the moon.

Ramadan Mubarak everyone.

The FA's Ramadan Guidance

PFA's MUSLIM PLAYER CONSIDERATION

England Football Calendar and Guide to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Grassroots Football

An Evening to Celebrate Ramadan

On Thursday 7 April 2022, Cheshire FA were proud to host an evening to celebrate Ramadan, together breaking Iftar and learning more about the challenges faced by Muslim players during Ramadan and how clubs/leagues can support.


We welcomed Ebadur Rahman of Nujum Sports as guest speaker, who provided guests with an insight into the Muslim faith and great detail around Ramadan itself. It was a very informative piece. Ebadur also shared how Cheshire FA were the first County FA in the country to sign the Muslim Athlete Charter; a pledge supporting Muslims in our beautiful game. 

Butch Fazal, FA Coach Inclusion & Diversity Manager, then put on a special training session for a local club, delivered in a way that explained how slight adjustments could be made to support and include Muslim players. 

All guests were then invited to break Iftar, with the going down of the sun, and shared some delicious food provided by our friends at Kanya Bistro. 

We welcomed guests to join us for a Q&A, before the evening came to a close. 

Cheshire FA CEO, Steve Smithies, spoke of the importance of hosting events such as this: "We are very proud as a County FA to be able to host this event, the first of it's kind, welcoming friends from the Muslim community along with many allies who wanted to learn more about how they can support. Thank you to Ebs and Butch for providing such an engaging and informative evening, and to all those who joined us." 

We thank all those who attended this special night.