*Undated
Schools In Egypt are putting Liverpool Winger Mohamed Salah into the curriculum to inspire the students.
If you think the admiration for Mohamed Salah within the Liverpool fanbase is huge, his support in Egypt is that of royalty. He is known as the 'Egyptian King' for a reason. Football has such a huge following in Africa, with a lot of pride for their footballers. The 29-year-old has risen to fame in recent years following his arrival at Liverpool and he's now one of the most iconic figures from his home nation.
Salah's life has been added to the national curriculum in Egypt in the hope that it will 'spur on students to greater things'.
The winger's football career, as well as his desire to help others, is now a topic in English-language textbooks for primary and secondary schools across the nation. Through his success in football, Salah has been able to fund projects and help improve life in Egypt, especially in his birthplace Nagrig. Salah has funded a new girls’ school, a water treatment centre and an ambulance unit; he also set up a charity for orphans and those in need. Primary-school children will mainly be taught of his footballing success, while secondary-school textbooks will focus now on his philanthropic activities and will pose questions prompting students to examine what it means to be a hero.
“Salah’s desire to help others is because he wants to give young people a chance to succeed,” the secondary school book reportedly says. “He is a role model to millions of Egyptians who give him the nickname ‘the happiness maker.”
Salah often appears on-screen alongside his hijabi wife and young daughter, who is named Makka after the holy city in Saudi Arabia. His quiet lifestyle, in which he is visibly Muslim, including praying on-pitch after goals, and massive donations to Egypt’s poor have earned him national and international admiration.
On the pitch, Salah's success has been remarkable. A golden boot winner in his first two seasons with Liverpool, he's also won the Premier League, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. This season, he currently leads the way as the Premier League's top goalscorer following his hat-trick against Manchester United at the weekend.
Born in Nagrig, Egypt, Salah began his youth career with local youth teams before making the move to Europe in 2012. He spent time with Chelsea, Fiorentina and Roma before his eventual move to Anfield and now his life story is a marvel for the youthful generation. Salah will now sit alongside other Egyptian heroes featured in textbooks, such as Nobel Prize-winning novelist Naguib Mahfouz and UK-based cardiologist Sir Magdi Yacoub.