Football, Rugby and Frisbee Teams Unexpectedly Terminated

Members of the AUC Titans American football team who showed up for unofficial practice last week were surprised to learn that their sport has been terminated on campus.

Director of Athletics Bob Reasso said that some sports, such as American football, require a lot of protection for players and that this was too costly for his department.

There is worldwide debate regarding American football being a risky sport resulting in many injuries such as head trauma, seizures and even death.

The Athletics Office at AUC says it is currently unable to provide the players with required equipment that can protect them from these injuries.

“As far as I know about university sports, I think there is no American football team in Egypt so why should we have one?” said Reasso.

Former Running Back, Head of the American Football team and computer engineering major, Youssef El-Nadi, said the decision took him by surprise.

El-Nadi explained that no one on the team, including himself, were notified regarding a potential change. Instead, he heard the news from his friends on the frisbee and rugby teams, which had also been terminated with the start of the new semester.

“The rugby team tried to reach an understanding with the university sports officials; however, their response was that the decision was final, even though we were not consulted,” said El-Nadi.

Since the AUC Titans were established on campus three years ago, the players have been funding their own protective gear so that there is no financial burden on the university, El-Nadi said.

But Reasso said that most of the teams are part of student clubs and are not funded by the Athletics Office, thereby allowing non-AUC athletes to join the teams.

He also said that the football, frisbee and rugby teams were not registered with the Egyptian Sports Federation for Universities making it illogical for them to continue as university teams.

“We support the three teams and we hope that the Egyptian Sports Federation for Universities will recognize them. Once that happens, we will create the teams, provide stadiums and training schedules,” said Reasso.

In the meantime, El-Nadi said that the team is currently meeting off-campus to continue their regular training sessions until a solution is reached.