Daily Times

ALEPPO: First live football match in five years served as a relief for the locals in war-torn Aleppo.

Local side Al-Ittihad beat their city rivals Hurriya 2-1 on Saturday. There has been no professional football in Aleppo since it was divided between the army and rebel forces in 2011. But the government regained complete control of the city last month.

The derby was a significant moment for both teams after five years of away games Ittihad’s goalkeeper helped his team to a narrow victory – under the eye of heavy security. The grass was brown and weathered from the winter cold, and the stadium had clearly been damaged by the war’s bombing campaigns, but the atmosphere was like any local football game elsewhere.

The only hints of the division that plagued the city were a prominent banner in the stands showing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the police in riot gear standing on the sidelines. However, the crowd remained upbeat, chanting to the sound of drumbeats and waving flags in their team colours.

“I can’t tell you how it feels to return to the pitch (in Aleppo) after five years,” Ittihad player Omar Hamidi told reporters before the game. “My heart’s beating so fast,” he said. The return of football to Aleppo is likely to ease organisational problems for the football league – which has only been able to hold games in two major cities.