The ongoing volleyball tournament captures the spirit of community bonding in the holy month of Ramadan.
Many of Mohammed Ibrahim’s colleagues have a set schedule after iftar these days: break the fast, perform the prayers, and set off to Doha’s Old Port to watch volleyball.
Ibrahim, a Sudanese expat, has not missed a single night of the Ekbes Tournament this year — a volleyball tournament formed of community level teams.
“I love coming here,” he told Doha News as the first match of the night began, between a team from Al Rayyan and another sponsored by event management firm Magusteen.
“Some of my friends are playing from various teams and I’ve come to support them. Plus, the weather is nice as well, so why not?” Ibrahim added.
While there is plenty to do at the Old Doha Port in the evenings – from the Throwback Food Festival, ‘Emrah wa Erbah’ quiz show to the Musahar Al Mina’s strolls – the third edition of the community-based tournament is also quite popular.
“The main aim of bringing Ekbes is to make this place a vibrant destination for all during Ramadan,” the CEO of Old Doha Port, Mohamed Abdullah Al-Mulla had told Doha News in an interview earlier in February.
The whole set-up is on par with any regional or international tournament recently hosted by Doha. The breaks have a light show, there are fan activities, and it feels local. Local sponsors dominate, and everyone seems to have a favourite team or a player.
The quality might not hit the levels that country’s champion duo of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan possess, but the cheers go on for every contested point.
There are traditional drums and singing throughout matches, as well as those who bring the noise. The prize pool is impressive, with the winner getting QAR 50,000 in cash, followed by QAR 30,000 for second place and QAR 20,000 for third.
“We come here right after iftar,” Ibrahim and his friend Omar, currently residents of Murra, say in unison.
They are just two of a couple hundred who have shown up to witness the four-versus-four action, now in its knockout phase. The tournament started with 12 teams, divided into four groups of three. Each night of action has three fixtures, starting at 8:30pm.
Ibrahim has stayed for each of those since March 6, the first day of the tournament.
“Wait for the break, they have a lot of fun activities throughout,” Omar, who has been in Doha for three years now, adds.
The first in line is the tug-of-war competition, played between randomly selected members of the audience.
The older competitors are then replaced by the younger ones for the sack race — a fun contest that has historically held its place in community-based events across the Arab world. Furthermore, Ramadan treats are passed out to the crowds throughout the three matches.
With the action now culminating to the latter stages, the tournament will have a competitive angle to it.
The tournament is growing year-by-year with the influx of fans also seeing an uptick, says Ghanem Al-Kuwari, player of one of the teams, Azghwa. The tournament captures the spirit of Ramadan, he tells local broadcasters AlKass.
“The atmosphere is highly competitive among the teams as well as the fans,” adds Al-Kuwari. “There is excitement in the games, which makes you more enthusiastic when playing.”
With the next knockout matches scheduled for Wednesday and the finale on Friday, it might not be too late to catch some spikes on the sand.
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