Kick Off Delayed By Performative Praying
OIR 1 v Hilltop 3
Hilltop win 6-3 on Aggregate
Somali British Champions League SF 2nd Leg
Sunday 22 June 2025
Played at Enfield Park 3G
Ground Tick #524
I have questions. Is it a tournament for football clubs with a, broadly, British Somali heritage? And/or, in this competition, must those clubs solely play players with a Somali heritage. If so, who fucking checks … and how?
Tonight, who cares? A highly competitive match, played in a superb spirit, in front of a boisterous and somewhat chaotic crowd, at my 524th ground tick.
OIR are/were the current holders of the SBCL, so that result ends their reign. They play their league football at a different ground, Enfield College 3G, in the Hertfordshire Senior County League, effectively Step 7. They finished twelfth (of sixteen) in the season just gone.
OIR topped a group containing Phoenix NextGen (of the Bristol & Suburban League), Tawfiiq (from Camden & Islington), Manchester Powerhouse, and Western Ballers (of the Islington Midweek League).
Hilltop played season 2024/25 at Step 5, in the Combined Counties Premier Division North, finishing fifteenth of twenty clubs.
They had finished second in their British Somali Champions League group. Behind Olympia (from Birmingham). The rest of that group were Cardiff Bay Warriors of the
SWPL Championship Division (Welsh Tier 5), Newmont (from West London), and Tusaale United, a Junior Sports Club based in Sheffield.
The group format (maybes a bit shit) had each team playing every other team just once. Only the bottom of each group eliminated. This year that was Western Ballers & Newmont. The group winners, including OIR, go straight to the Semi Final. Hilltop beat Cardiff Bay Warriors in their Quarter Final to set up today's clash. And Hilltop had won the first leg 3-2.
Phoenix NextGen & Olympia contest the other Semi Final.
This tournament is clearly a celebration of Somali culture across a good few British cities. And, I've come to the game. So, I'm clearly supporting that. But, football is a culture as well. And, I'm a part of that. If I'm honest, there was a bit of a culture clash just before this game started.
Now, I'm an Atheist, loud & proud. But, I understand the role organised religion has in shaping our culture and identity, and culture and identity in other parts of the world. Somali culture is overwhelmingly Islamic, it's the State Religion. I'm aware that any celebration of Somali heritage is likely to include at least a nod to Islamic heritage.
Kick off was scheduled for 5:30. Kick off was delayed. Initially by general tardiness. Teams not ready. Ref & linos getting sorted. Kids kicking balls about on the pitch. This was a standard 3g Cage, but too many people had come through the gate onto the pitch surrounds, and were lurking the wrong side of the fence, lurking pitchside. Tardiness.
But then, just as everyone was getting their shit together, we had a further delay. A delay due to what I'm going to call ostentatious and performative praying.
Maybe the Holy Book dictates when to pray. Maybe the Holy Book dictates supplication. Maybe the Holy Book dictates which direction to pray. I'm sure the Holy Book dictates the actual prayer, and its length.
However, I'm going to hazard a guess that the Holy Book makes no fucking mention of the dimensions of a football field, the penalty area, the touchlines, etc.
As the delayed kick off approached, a number of fans faced the appropriate way (I assume), dropped to their knees, bowed their heads to the plastic pitch, and began praying. As that got underway, a number of other fans clearly thought - no fan march, no Ultra Choreo, no Tifo, I'll have me some of this praying then - and rushed to join them. I'm emphasing that all this is happening INSIDE the fucking fence, very much pitchside adjacent. Indeed, there are now so many fans praying that some are effectively on the pitch, impeding the lino as the Ref e gets ready with the whistle.
And, I assume, the Holy Book dictates - once you're down, once you're incanting, stay with it, track it all the way, you've started, you must finish. Meaning the lino has no option other than to point out “the obstruction” to the ref, who has to delay the game further. We're at ten to six now!!! FFS.
I didn't think it was culturally inappropriate of me to think;
What the fuck are they thinking? Starting what seems a particularly long prayer now. At this moment. On the touchline. When we're on a tardy delay anyway.
Game delayed due to ostentatious and performative praying.
OIR, needing to get back in this two legged tie started the brighter, and hit the bar on 9 minutes. They had more possession, and were more probing in moving the ball and looking for chances. As the half played out, slowly, Hilltop got more of a grip, moving the ball around well.
Hilltop opened the scoring on 32. A quick breakaway down inside right, and a clean finish. They had a similar chance go just wide on 37. And only a great save by the OIR keeper on 44 kept it to 1-0 at halftime.
A strong wind made the early bits of the second half a bit scrappier. But, OIR equalised with a great goal on 68 minutes. A deep left wing corner was headed back across goal, and a simple dink header made it 1-1. Unfortunately, that didn't last long, just three minutes, Hilltop worked it in from the right, matey has tried to put it over the keeper as he goes to ground, the keeper gets a lot on it, but can't keep it out, 2-1 Hilltop.
That goal invigorated Hilltop, who were now flowing, stretching the OIR defence left & right & back again. They went further ahead on 75. A neat run in from the right, a clever cross, matey gets too much on it, and it hits the bar and comes down, the lino flags that it has crossed the line, 3-1.
That sparks a pitch invasion, no praying involved. And Hilltop are in the final.
My second time up Enfield environs. Getting a drink remains a struggle. The Old Wheatsheaf, by Enfield Chase station had all four Cask pumpclips turned around and unavailable. FFS.
The Jolly Butchers
168 Baker St, Enfield EN1 3JS
Which is a McMullen house. It wasn't busy this time of a Sunday night. Indeed, I was the only customer!!!
Four McMullens on Cask, one on Keg, if you include their Rivertown imprint.
Rivertown, Cove, IPA on Cask at 3.8%
A nice beer that to round out the evening. Left a bit of icing sugar on my lips. A bit of straw up the hooter sensories. And some gentle and late bitterness.
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