The sociology of sports in the Middle East has been neglected compared to other world regions. This volume aspires to encourage a greater focus on this topic. Here are assembled papers that discuss various aspects of this subject. As it happens all deal with football (soccer) largely in Egypt but including other Middle Eastern countries. Some are historically or politically oriented while others take a more sociological approach. Papers deal with the relation between organized sports and fans, with the special place of youngsters and women in sports, or with the role of sports in a more general understanding of culture and society as indicators of modernization and other facets of social change. Sportive competitions arouse keen passions around such issues as gender, class, and nationality, while they raise questions about leadership on and off the field, and about the economic impact of the games. The topic needs more research.

Arabic Abstract1. Introduction: Why Study Sports in the Middle East?
Nicholas S. Hopkins
2. Institutions and Discourses of Sports in the Modern Middle East
Murat C. Y?ld?z
3. Sport in the Arab World in Postcolonial Context
Mahfoud Amara
4. Soccer: Shaping the Middle East and North Africa
James M. Dorsey
5. Sports in Egypt: Mimic-Real Spectrum
Ereny Zarif
6. Street Soccer, Masculinity, and Patriarchal Reproduction in the Streets of Cairo
Nashaat Hussein
7. Gender and Sport: Adolescent Girls in Upper Egypt
Lamia Bulbul
8. The Paradoxes of Women's Football in Tunisia: The Case of the National Team
Monia Lachheb
9. Here Comes the Carnival: Chanting and Performance among Organized Football Fandom in Egypt
Dalia Ibraheem
About the Contributors