In Sudan, where a women's national football team remains a distant dream, Salma Al Majidi knew the only way to take part in her beloved sport was to coach ... and that the players had to be men.
Ms Majidi, 27, acknowledged by Fifa as the first Arab and Sudanese woman to coach a men's football team in the Arab world, is a pioneer in a sport that dominates the region.
"Why football? Because it is my first and ultimate love," said Ms Majidi, clad in sports gear and a black headscarf, as she led players of the Al Ahly Al Gadaref club at a practice session in the town of Gadaref, east of Khartoum.
"I became a coach because there is still no scope for women's football in Sudan," said Ms Majidi, who is affectionately called "sister coach" by her team.
The daughter of a retired policeman, Ms Majidi was 16 when she fell in love with football.
It came about as she watched her younger brother's school team being coached. She was captivated by the coach's instructions, his moves and how he placed the marker cones at practice sessions.
"At the end of every training session I discussed with him the techniques he used to coach the boys," Ms Majidi told AFP, as she watched her own players practising on a hot day at a dusty ground in Gadaref.
"He saw I had a knack for coaching ... and gave me a chance to work with him."
Soon Ms Majidi was coaching the under-13 and under-16 teams of Al Hilal club in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum on the west bank of the River Nile.
Questions like whether she understood football or had the skills to coach men were all put to rest over time, said Ms Majidi, speaking in a soft but confident tone.
Named in the BBC's 2015 list of "100 inspirational women", Ms Majidi has coached the Sudanese second league men's clubs of Al Nasr, Al Nahda, Nile Halfa and Al Mourada.
Nile Halfa and Al Nahda even topped local leagues under her coaching. She currently holds the African "B" badge in coaching, meaning she can coach any first league team across the continent.
The only other woman to have gained recognition in Sudan's footballing world was Mounira Ramadan, who refereed men's matches in the 1970s.
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Sudan joined Fifa in 1948 and established the Confederation of African Football (CAF) along with Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa. It won the CAF trophy in 1970.
Women's football has faced an uphill task since the country adopted Islamic Sharia law in 1983, six years after which President Omar Al Bashir seized power in a coup.
There is no legal ban on women's football in Sudan, but a conservative society, coupled with the more traditionalist government, has left it in the shadows.
Women do play football but there are no competitions or women's clubs, and they do not play much in public.
"There are restrictions on women's football, but I'm determined to succeed," said Ms Majidi, whose dream is to coach an international team, as her players kicked up clouds of dust practising free kicks.
Her journey has not been easy.
"Sudan is a community of tribes and some tribes believe that a woman's role is confined only to her home," said Ms Majidi, a university graduate in accounts and management.
"There was this one boy who refused to listen. He told me he belongs to a tribe that believed men should never take orders from women," she said.
It took months before he finally accepted her as coach. "Today he is a fine player," said Ms Majidi, who works full-time and receives a salary that is equivalent to that of a male coach.
At first, "people in the streets used to call us 'Salma's kids!'" said Majid Ahmed, a striker and an ardent fan of Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.
"In school we have female teachers, so what's the problem having a female coach?"
Ms Majidi said her entrance to what was a male preserve is just a start.
"My message to men in general is to give women a chance to do what they want," she said as she prepared tea after a gruelling practice session.
Coming from a traditional family, it was a challenge for Ms Majidi to prove herself to their relatives, recalls her father, Mohamed Al Majidi.
"Then one day, her uncle who used to criticise her saw crowds shouting 'Salma! Salma!' during a match," he told AFP at the family's mud-and-brick home in Omdurman.
"These same relatives now pray to Allah to support her."
From early on, Ms Majidi's mother knew her daughter was different.
"Even when crossing the street, she would watch the boys playing football," said Aisha Al Sharif.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Four stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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RESULT
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)
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Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
PULITZER PRIZE 2020 WINNERS
JOURNALISM
Public Service
Anchorage Daily News in collaboration with ProPublica
Breaking News Reporting
Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.
Investigative Reporting
Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times
Explanatory Reporting
Staff of The Washington Post
Local Reporting
Staff of The Baltimore Sun
National Reporting
T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose and Robert Faturechi of ProPublica
and
Dominic Gates, Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb of The Seattle Times
International Reporting
Staff of The New York Times
Feature Writing
Ben Taub of The New Yorker
Commentary
Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times
Criticism
Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times
Editorial Writing
Jeffery Gerritt of the Palestine (Tx.) Herald-Press
Editorial Cartooning
Barry Blitt, contributor, The New Yorker
Breaking News Photography
Photography Staff of Reuters
Feature Photography
Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin of the Associated Press
Audio Reporting
Staff of This American Life with Molly O’Toole of the Los Angeles Times and Emily Green, freelancer, Vice News for “The Out Crowd”
LETTERS AND DRAMA
Fiction
"The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
Drama
"A Strange Loop" by Michael R. Jackson
History
"Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America" by W. Caleb McDaniel (Oxford University Press)
Biography
"Sontag: Her Life and Work" by Benjamin Moser (Ecco/HarperCollins)
Poetry
"The Tradition" by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)
General Nonfiction
"The Undying: Pain, Vulnerability, Mortality, Medicine, Art, Time, Dreams, Data, Exhaustion, Cancer, and Care" by Anne Boyer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
and
"The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America" by Greg Grandin (Metropolitan Books)
Music
"The Central Park Five" by Anthony Davis, premiered by Long Beach Opera on June 15, 2019
Special Citation
Ida B. Wells
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
