Spokane lottery leaves lifelong Team Egypt fan out of open practice | Spokane News

Spokane, Wash. — A Spokane resident who has followed Team Egypt for years missed out on the team’s only open practice before World Cup group play after the city used a lottery system to hand out a limited number of seats.

For many fans, the drawing offered a rare chance to watch one of the world’s top soccer teams train in person. For Jaffar Allaet, it meant coming up short just one day after his 66th birthday.

The moment still felt hard to believe when he first learned the team was coming to Spokane.

“The first time I heard that the Egyptian team was coming to Spokane I thought no, that can’t be true… But then I found out it was true,” Allaet said.

His family tried to help him get in. His daughter, Yasmeen Lutchendorf, said they pushed hard for tickets but did not get any through the lottery.

“The irony that his favorite team and his favorite player are in the city he lives in is just unreal. It’s one of those once in a lifetime moments…” Lutchendorf said. “Tried our hardest and unfortunately nobody won any tickets but I just really wish I could make that happen for him…” she said.

Allaet supports local teams, but he also gets up very early to keep up with high-level soccer overseas. He said his favorite player is Mo Salah. 

“There’s always more competition and like I said I love Mo Salah… He is the best player in the world…” Allaet said.

At Gonzaga, security had already increased ahead of the practice. Extra patrols were in place, police were visible on campus and some areas were gated off that normally were not.

Even without a ticket, Allaet said he appreciated what the city had done by bringing the team to Spokane. He also encouraged those who did get in to take in the experience. 

“It’s not every day you go out and you watch such tremendous players practicing or playing a game…” Allaet said. “Brought a tremendous team to Spokane. Spokane deserves something like that…” he said.