Midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate has revealed how he and Ghana striker Jordan Ayew are coping together with other Muslim colleagues at Crystal Palace during this period of Ramadan.
In the Islamic religion, the month of April through to May is the period of prayers and fasting.
Muslims spend 29 or 30 days where stay away from food from dawn until sunset.
Observing Ramadan has always posed a challenge to footballers, considering the high physical and energy demand of the sport.
“It depends on your head. It’s like mental. If you come in and say: 'Yeah, it’s gonna be hard,' it’s gonna be hard. The [harder] month is if you do it in the pre-season," Kouyate remarked, as reported by his club's official website.
“After [training] we go to his [Christian Benteke’s] house. He does Ramadan [with] me, Mama [Sakho] and Jordan [Ayew]. And he prays with us in the night. Yeah, it's very, very good. It's a very good experience."
While Muslims typically prefer to celebrate the end of Ramadan with family and friends, the situation may be different this year due to health and safety concerns in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"But maybe this month [isn't going to] be the same. Eid is something [that we like to] do together, enjoy the time, everything is positive, it's like a big moment for all. It's very, very good, it's an unbelievable [end to the] month for us,” Kouyate added.
source https://footballghana.com/cheikhou-kouyate-reveals-how-he-and-jordan-ayew-are-coping-during-ramadan
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