From A Soccer Player To A Street Vendor: Recognize Him?

From a professional soccer player to a street vendor, meet Mahrous Mahmoud.

@MoSalah A fellow Egyptian footballer needs your help..Mahrous Mahmoud, a defender for club Beni Suef, is now a street vendor due to the pandemic. Pls help him. Lots of love from a LFC fan from India❤️

— amit thirani (@thirani_amit) May 19, 2020

Mahrous Mahmoud is one of many people whose livelihoods had been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But refusing to submit to his hardships, the former professional footballer who once played as a defender for Beni Suef, a club in Egypt’s second division, is now making and selling Ramadan sweets.

Prior to the pandemic, he made about $200 a month playing for his club, which was enough to sustain his family of 3 alongside his part-time job as a construction worker.

Mahmoud showed athletic talent from a young age. He started as a boxer in a local club, then moved on to handball, before coaches convinced him to join the club’s soccer team. By 16, he went professional.

What an amazing talent, an amazing soul.