VANCOUVER, BC – As a young kid growing up in Egypt, soccer was in Aly Ghazal’s DNA.
His dad played. His uncle played. And some of his most vivid memories are playing soccer with friends on the streets of Cairo. He also remembers watching the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, and Patrick Vieira lead France to the 1998 World Cup when he was just six years old.
“I used to love the team from France,” Ghazal said. “Patrick Vieira is my idol in football.”
For Ghazal, a practicing Muslim who grew up in a household with his parents, cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents, family and religion came first.