Culture
Zero hour and one half of football: how a league match helped deceive Israel
Sadat insisted a match kick off at 2pm on 6 October 1973, the exact minute of the crossing.
During the October 1973 War, football became part of Egypt’s deception plan.
President Anwar Sadat insisted that the league match between Ghazl El Mahalla and El Tayaran kick off at exactly 2pm on 6 October, the same time as zero hour, and newspapers stepped up their sports coverage so the day would look completely normal.
A chant at half-time
Midway through the match, Mahalla’s fans began chanting for El Tayaran, the air force club, because they had heard the first military communiqué on the radio. The match ended 0–0 and the league was suspended.
Egyptian football also gave a martyr to the front: Abdou Abu Hussein, a player for Al Masry.
