Majdi Al-Saidi-Tunisia
The political lights were not tempting Tunisia's athletes before the January 14, 2011 revolution, but the country's major political transformations during that period were an important turning point in the political landscape, which is more than ever appealing to a number of sports stars.
With the official preliminary results of the 2019 legislative elections announced, a number of former and current athletes succeeded in entering the House of Representatives, raising questions about the motives of throwing them into the political arena after they were figures of weight in the sports arena.
The third parliamentary elections since the outbreak of the revolution, which took place on the sixth of this month, resulted in the rise of nearly twenty deputies who are currently or formerly held sports posts for the parliament, which includes 217 deputies.
Defending sport
Ali Hafsi, the former president of the football federation, succeeded in securing a seat in the next parliament of the Nidaa Tounes party in the governorate of Tozeur.
Al-Hafsi believes that the relationship between the political and sports work is strong, as deputies who have previously held sports positions seek to contribute to the service of the sports sector and exploit their position with parties or governments to implement programs that appear to be mostly sport-oriented.
He told Al Jazeera Net, "I played football as a player in my mother's newspaper, Tozeur, and then assumed the presidency of the club before the presidency of the federation. It also contributed to the Tunisian football's many successes and crowning. Now I think that a political experiment will be an update to my programs in the service of sport from the gate of the parliament, especially as the general situation. For this sector is not pleased. "
Al-Hafsi does not consider that his ascension to Parliament carries purely political goals, but believes that the experience gained during his work in the sector will be used to reform the sport by enacting new laws relating to infrastructure, stadiums, club financing and the place of youth in public life.
Mutual interests
In turn, Jalal Zayati succeeded in securing a seat under the dome of parliament for the "Tunisian alternative" in the governorate of Monastir (center) and said that his party put the youth and sports sectors within the priorities of his electoral program to improve the conditions of sports and legislation for new laws guaranteeing the right of youth, according to Al Jazeera Net.
On the phenomenon of the number of athletes to engage in political experiences, said Zayati, a former president of the table tennis federation (2009-2013) "My goal is to serve the youth of my side and not just to reach power, success in politics and sports requires integrity and spirit of victory and this is what I will work on Consolidating it by raising issues related to youth and sports. "
Coastal star Reda Charafeddine rose to parliament from the "Heart of Tunisia" party in the governorate of Sousse, which saw the rise of many athletes such as Hafez Zouari and Hussein Jnaih, both of whom held the position.
Also included in the parliamentary seats were the Secretary of State for Sport, President of the Taekwondo Federation, Ahmed Kaaloul, Walid Jallad, President of the Future Club of Suleiman (Nabeul Governorate), the President of the Future of Kasserine Kamal El Hamzawi, the former President of Bizertin Club Mehdi Ben Gharbia, and Mounir Balti, the former Vice President of the African Club.
Other candidates succeeded in gaining the confidence of voters and securing parliamentary seats after they took up sporting positions, notably Mohammed Zoubi, Mohammed Bunni, Saifuddin Al-Marghani, Mekki Zaghdoud and others who presided over junior sports clubs.
According to sports journalist Amin Ben Hassan, "the phenomenon of athletes holding political posts is not the preserve of Tunisia, but many of the stadiums have gained great fame in politics after a busy march in the ball like Liberian President George Weah or former Brazilian stars Bebeto and Romario, and others."
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Bin Hassan, a journalist at Express FM, said that the political stadium has become an area that tempts athletes by storming it to gain influence at a time. "Political parties, in turn, seek to attract sports stars to expand their popularity and impose their weight in parliament because these athletes have a special place among the masses and voters. ".