EFFL Major Cup 2019 has wrapped up with the undefeated Eagles earning one more trophy. We may not have had stats this season to be able to highlight the efforts of the players, however we can always take a look at their performances. Of course, we can’t not mention players who have been working hard and standing out year after year; Malak Sabry, Nora Ali, Yara Ayman, Youmna Mohamed and Randa Badawy. As for players who stood out this season, here’s a list of some of our favorites!
10. Farah Yasser
Team: Cairo Bears
Jersey Number: 3
Position: Receiver
Why we love her: standing out as her team’s most trustworthy receiver
9. Amira Fekry
Team: Cairo Hellhounds
Jersey Number: 7
Position: RB
Why we love her: Big plays and bigger potential
8. Nada Gouda
Team: MSA Tigers
Jersey Number: 15
Position: QB\RB
Why we love her: A strong athlete and a powerful runner
7. Sherine Sherif
Team: Cairo Warriors
Jersey Number: 28
Position: RB
Why we love her: always standing out as the best running back in EFFL
6. Amira Nader
Team: GUC Eagles
Jersey Number: 1
Position: Center\QB
Why we love her: An outstanding offensive player with undeniable talent.
5. Mai Habiba
Team: GUC Eagles
Jersey Number: 36
Position: Safety
Why we love her: A top player who invests in studying football as much as she trains for it.
4. Maha Salah
Team: Cairo Warriors
Jersey Number: 9
Position: Reciever
Why we love her: One of the toughest players, in the words of her coaches, who leaves it all on the field
3. Hend Haggag
Team: Cairo Wolves
Jersey Number: 84
Position: RB
Why we love her: The impressive running back pushed her team forward through very memorable plays. She stood out in the opinions of many coaches.
2. Maha Abdelfattah
Team: GUC Eagles
Jersey Number: 6
Position: Reciever
Why we love her: Excelling as this league’s top receiver, with plenty of talent, she makes it almost look easy.
1. Haidy Wael
Team: Cairo Bears
Jersey Number: 1
Position: QB\Safety
Why we love her: in the vast majority’s opinion, Haidy continues to impress positioning herself as one of the best players in EFFL history.
The EFFL Major Cup is coming to an end and we’re ready to put the teams under the microscope. This tournament has definitely been different on many levels but as some things change, others don’t. As we go on with this article, you’ll find the teams have been put into 4 categories. The top 4 will be divided into “Undefeated” and “Clinched” and the lower 4 into “Almost made it” and “Underdogs” categories. These categories are the author’s ideas and don’t represent any other.
The Undefeated
The Eagles and Warriors have finished on top of this cup, both undefeated. While both teams seem close, yet they are so different.
The Eagles Ladies have been carrying their men’s team legacy of undefeated streaks, being champions, and always making statements. The Eagles have secured 4 wins in this tournament with 114 PD.
The Cairo Warriors also have a legacy to uphold, but it’s their own as they are the first female flag football team in Egypt, and they are the first to compete in international games The Warriors are also title holders from their championship win back in season 2. They have secured 4 wins this season with 66 PD.
The Eagles roster, being the largest amongst the ladies as it has more than 30 active players. However, the Warriors are far from the number with 19 active players. Challenging enough, the Warriors managed to go undefeated securing their playoffs spot. Of course, with such a small number of players, you’d assume they can’t risk losing a player. Coach Ashraf had a different opinion though as he removed 3 of his strongest players off the roster for being late. Shereen, Rana Sharshar and Nourhan samy were not allowed on field after being removed by their coach showing his intolerance towards lack of discipline.
The Eagles will now face the Cairo Bears in the Playoffs next Week, will their streak finally be challenged? Although these two teams have already faced in the season giving the Eagles a 19-7 win, the Cairo Bears’ performance this season says they’re back to fight and we’re expecting a very heated game from both those teams.
The Warriors on the other hand will play against the Wolves who have been going a little under the radar this season but have managed to secure their spot in the playoffs.
Clinched
The Cairo Bears have come back with a winner’s attitude this season, which reminds us a lot of their men’s team performance last season. Although, as we look closely we will find Haidy Wael and Farah Yasser responsible for their team’s strong performance.
Haidy has started to play both ways this season, excelling at both. While Farah has been the star receiver of the Bears and this season was no different. While these two may shine the brightest we must admit a whole army had to be behind the highest score in EFFL history; their 63 to nothing win against the Thunder. Currently Cairo Bears have secured 3 wins this season with 92 PD.
With this new winning attitude, will the Bears’ ladies be able to break the Eagles’ streak like we watched the men’s team defeat a hardly defeated Eagles last season?
The Cairo Wolves on the other hand, have clinched their spot as the points differential was in their favor. The Cairo Wolves have secured 2 wins this season with a 13 PD.
The Wolves have always been a tough competitor in the league, being the first team to ever be crowned the EFFL championship, the team definitely knows how to win. However, the Wolves progress remained stagnant while other teams may have found ways to enhance their game.
This almost cost them this cup’s playoffs, so shall we expect the Wolves to fight their way back to the top?
Almost made it
The Cairo Hell Hounds have had strong performances and lesser ones as well. But in the end, the Hounds were tied up in points with the Wolves and could’ve made it to the playoffs, their points differential however was far from giving them the spot. While they were tied in wins, 2, the Hounds PD of -16 didn’t put them forward.
The Hounds ladies have been slower in progress than their men’s team. While they were able to pull off impressive plays throughout the season, their performance lacked the strength to make it to playoffs showing how they still need time to position their team as a winner. Will they be ready for the Battle of the West?
The AUC Titans on the other hand has been unexpected all season, with good performances against the Hounds and Tigers, yet 3 losses. It seems like the Titans were finding their groove after the return of their QB Aliaa Haytham.
The Titans are also struggling without one of EFFL’s strongest players, Psycho. Will they be looking into replacing her or will they move on with a different offensive approach? The Titans definitely have some unfulfilled potential and might just find their way in time for the next battle. The Titans have secured 1 win and came out with a -35 PD.
The Underdogs
The MSA Tigers and Gezira Thunder have finished this season with zero wins. But there’s always more to the story than just numbers. While the Tigers have a -50 PD, the Thunder have -184.
The Thunder have been a competitor from day one in EFFL. This season however it seems that their players gave up on them. While some quit, others moved to other teams leaving the Thunder with 3 veteran players and more rookies than the team could’ve handled.
It also seems like the Thunder’s tryouts and rookie camp were rushed, putting their rookies on field when they weren’t ready to compete. What forced their players away from the team though? Well that’s a question for another time.
The Tigers were able to secure 5 of those ex Thunder players making such an impact on the Tigers’ squad. With two players who once played for the Tigers then moved to the Thunder and finally back with the Tigers. In addition, two of the Thunder’s strongest assets, their running back and their safety. Then, followed by a QB mid-season.
Yes, you read that right, mid-season. The Thunder’s Ex QB Yara Tawheed had moved to the Wolves, while she was on their roster for the first two games, she didn’t get her playing time having veteran player Randa Badawy starting for her team.
Yara then decided to join the Tigers, and while such a move is unusual, the instability of the tournament let it happen. while other owners were asked about the incident and didn’t know about it.
The Tiger’s performance has much improved after this transfer and while they weren’t able to secure their first win yet, their performance was competitive and kept the audience on edge. We’re expecting to see the new and improved Tigers making progress in the future.
Below are the current team standings going into the final week of the EFFl Major Cup.
They say people don’t want to spend their lives on the sidelines. But on our sidelines, coaches and staff enjoy what they excel at. So, this week we’ll be taking a look at the games, while considering the reactions on the sidelines.
In the first game, the Bears took on the Thunder and once again the Thunder were outmatched. The Cairo Bears took the chance to score on almost every drive, both on offense and on defense. Thus, ending the game with a solid 65 to nothing score becoming the highest points differential in EFFl history.
While the Bears’ sideline was filled with joy, disappointment appeared on the Thunder’s side. The team’s owner, Refaey, stayed away from the sideline in frustration, while offensive coordinator Osama Thabet tried every trick up his sleeve to minimize the loss.
Later, the GUC Eagles played against the Cairo Hell Hounds and managed to win with 34 unanswered points. The Hounds didn’t live up to expectations when they faced the defending champions.
Although the Eagles were winning, Coach Mostafa Hamad wasn’t at all calm. The over the top coach lived up to his reputation with his strict sideline face and very distinct shouting. The Hounds weren’t too calm either as Coach Mohamed Haddad was losing his temper over the loss.
Later on, the Warriors and Wolves faced off in an exciting game where the Warriors were able to steal their win with a 7-0 score.
The Wolves sideline kept a strong and supportive spirit with their players despite the loss. On the other hand, the Warriors sideline were momentarily upset over Rana Sharshar’s injury.
To end the day, the Tigers and Titans faced off and the Titans were able to earn a 28-14 win. The Tigers, frustrated by loss, voiced their stress and even had coaches wandering the field to disagree with the referee. The Titans on the other hand, maintained a less intense approach in their disagreements.
It’s safe to say those two sidelines were on the edge, given the game had a cancelled touchdown for the Titans due to a penalty and ruled an interception in favor of the Titans over a claimed catch by a Tigers’ receiver which for the moment seemed like one of those ‘ complicated calls’
Since we’re looking at sidelines, we must take a look on what happened when a Hounds’ player was injured. It pointed out the unavailability of a medic among the organizing crew. This raises a question, if a team doesn’t have a medic on their sideline will they not receive medical attention? And if so, are the teams obligated to have a certified medic on field to ensure players’ safety?
The answer to the latter question, probably not, which was revealed during another injury when a Titans’ player injured her finger, the organizers asked the Hounds’ medic to check on the player. Once again, pointing out how the Titans didn’t have a medic and neither was the organizing team provided with one. We all sure hope this problem will be solved as we approach week 3.
The league standings are starting to shape up with the Eagles and Warriors on top each with two wins, however the points differential is in the Eagles’ favor. The Bears, Wolves, Hounds and Titans each have one win and one loss, respectively from the highest point differential to the lowest. While the Tigers and Thunder are yet to earn their first win.
The football scene in Egypt has been changing and growing over the years, but for the ladies’ league it’s been more of a roller coaster. The ladies flag football 4th season kicks off with new twists and plenty of surprises, so let’s dive in!
The Major Cup kicked off last Friday taking place in the West side marking a first for the ladies. The 5 man crew behind the day, also referred to as the X-team, has definitely put in the effort and time delivering a smooth game day for all the teams.
Another first is how you can invite your friends to watch you play, for free! This could be taken as a great chance to grow an audience, although we’re still waiting on developing football awareness so the audience can actually enjoy what they’re watching.
As for the games, the defending champions kicked off the season against the Cairo Bears. While the Bears put on a strong performance, the Eagles are back to maintain their streak.
The game started off showing strength on the Bears’ side as their QB Haidy Wael has once again proven her athleticism as she played a joker card playing both ways during the game. On defense, Haidy was able to put pressure on the Eagles’ QB Amira Nader in the first half. The Eagles however recovered earning a 19-7 win.
The Hounds then took on the Thunder in what seemed like an unfair matchup as the currently mostly rookies team played their first game. The Cairo Hell Hounds of course took the chance to make a statement not only winning but also scoring 41 points to nothing showing they’re coming this season with motivation.
Later, the Wolves and Tigers faced off, while the Tigers earned a win against the Wolves in a pre-season friendly game, they weren’t able to grab the win in the first week of this season. The Wolves were able to shut down the Tigers’ passing game, they were however able to gain yards and even score a touchdown through their running game with the ex-Thunder player Radwa Hamdy . The Wolves on the other hand maintained a strong passing game earning a 25 to 6 win.
In the last game of the day the Cairo Warriors played against the AUC Titans. The Warriors’ Rana Sharshar had her blitz game on point making sacks and disturbing Alia’s passing game. While the ex-Hounds’ player Nadeen Baheir was able to earn two interceptions for the Titans, their offense was unfortunate when it came to scoring ending the game with a 22-0 win for the Warriors.
The first week has definitely met expectations regarding both organizing and games, but will we be seeing any surprises in the upcoming weeks?
Football Insider 