ONE of the most influential contributors to sports in Bahrain has been Jassim Al Muawda. Consider him in the same league as the legendary Jimmy Hogan, who used his experience in England to influence the rise of football in countries such as Austria, Hungary and Germany.

When I asked former Vice President and Treasurer of the Bahrain Football Association who was also former Head of Bahrain’s referees’ committee, Abdulla Hamza, he said: “Jassim Al Muawda is the first football coach in Bahrain’s history, and the first to coach the Bahrain National Team.”

In 1947, Jassim left Bahrain to enrol in the highly prestigious Victoria College in Alexandria, where he was among peers such as the late King Hussein of Jordan. When he came back he made his mark as Bahrain’s first specialized coach in football.

He is best known for his unique style, where he was firm yet fair with his decisions. There was no compromise to punctuality and discipline, where he taught players (of various sports) what is truly required to become a model professional.

In his time, Jassim coached Muharraq Club, Nusoor Club (at one point he coached Muharraq Club and Nusoor Club simultaneously) and the Bahrain National Team, but that is not all. His contributions were far more than mere football results. Jassim laid the foundations for sports education, where his approach was to educate his players on the various pillars of sport, which include tactics, discipline, strength, conditioning and the importance of values in life.

Jassim is best known for his affiliation with Nusoor Club (currently Al Ahli Club, after the merger of Al Ahli and Nusoor Club), who he coached for eleven years. He influenced the club to win its first titles in football, and break Muharraq Club’s firm monopoly on Bahrain’s football titles.

Jassim’s contribution to Nusoor Club was never motivated by money, since his efforts as coach/mentor were free of charge.

Since his return from Alexandria, Jassim made sure that he frequently attended football matches and training sessions in Europe and abroad in order to learn the best and newest coaching techniques. For example, Jassim attended the historic Hungarian win over England, which was a 6-3 score-line at Wembley Stadium in 1953. The match is popular in hiostyr because of Hungary’s emergence as a true footballing nation in the 1950’s. Moreover, whenever Jassim travelled to Europe he would come back bearing supplies for the club, because he understood the club’s limited financial ability. While, he also believed in the club’s youth and their enthusiasm to his training methods.

His efforts were for the greater benefit of Bahrain, where he coached the national side (1958-1966) during its first appearance in the Arab Nations Cup, back in 1966.

When he left his coaching post, he stayed as a physiotherapist for Al Ahli Club. Where he was adored by all fans for helping out all players in matches, including the opposition!

He remained the friend of players of all generations that was always willing to give them his valuable advice.

Apart from his coaching roles, Jassim was one of the founders of the Bahrain Football Association, along with Shaikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, and Sayf Jabr Al Mussalam.

Jassim also took part in conducting seminars to qualify football referees in Bahrain, his pupils had successful careers as referees in Bahrain namely Abdulla Hamza, Ali Kamanga and Hamza Mirza. In that respect Jassim was the person that made referees wear the black suit, which was a new practice in Bahrain. His aim was to get people involved in sports, even if they were not participating as players.

Personally, I find it really challenging to try and depict Jassim’s contributions in Bahrain. What he did was completely selfless and benefited the future generations of Bahrain. To this day he keeps his office at Al Ahli Club, where he remains the godfather of sports in Bahrain.

In fact, he was looking forward to the Uefa Champions League matches, mainly Manchester United vs Real Madrid!
It is an honour to meet someone of Jassim’s stature, and I hope his efforts are not forgotten.