Hassan Seif al-Din never expected that, at the age of 65, he would be teaching martial arts to children in a football stadium in Beirut. But these are not normal times.

The coach fled to Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium from Dahiyeh, one of the capital’s southern suburbs, along with thousands of others. He now lives in one of the many rows of tents set up in the venue.

The Middle East was plunged into fresh fighting on February 28 when the United States and Israel attacked Iran and the conflict spread into Lebanon just days later. In April, The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations said that over a million people in Lebanon had been displaced as Israel has bombed Hezbollah targets in the country. Hassan is just one of them.

“There was so much bombing around us, so we escaped and ended up displaced here at the Sports City,” Hassan told DW. After he arrived, he was determined to maintain his martial arts routine.

“I was training here on my own for two to three hours a day,” he said.

As he did so, he noticed children around watching him.

“I thought to myself, ‘let me bring them together, train them, and bring some joy into their lives through this sport, help them forget what’s happening in the city, teach them how to switch off for a while and build their strength — physically and mentally.’”

Adnan is one of the children who has been learning a new skill. 

“I really love how the coach teaches us, especially how to defend myself and build confidence,” he told DW. “If someone attacked me in the street and tried to kidnap me, I’d know how to defend myself.”

Sports as a distraction

There’s more to it than self-defense for Hassan. It is about giving young people something else to think about than bombs, the homes they are missing and their normal lives. It is about giving them something to look forward to.

“The displaced people living in the tents carry their own trauma,” he said.

“(During training) they’re away from everything happening outside, enjoying being together and training with me. Having a coach and a team is something they never had before, so they take to it naturally. They’ve become like family.

“It means so much to them to forget the pain and everything happening outside this pitch. They’re happy. Sometimes they will come and wake me up saying, ‘Let’s go, coach, time to train.’”

Football clubs chip in with support

The stadium has long been the home of the Lebanon national team and the venue has witnessed some of the country’s greatest sporting moments, such as a famous win over South Korea in 2011 during World Cup qualification. Older residents still talk of 1975 when Pele played a friendly there in front of over 35,000 fans.

The stadium reflects the country’s troubled history to an extent. It was destroyed during the Israeli invasion of 1982 and rebuilt in 1990 after the 15-year-long civil war ended. In 2024, it hosted Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral after the Hezbollah leader was killed in an Israeli strike.

Football is the country’s most popular sport and clubs have been working hard to help those in need.

“I am happy that the stadium is able to shelter people,” Wael Chehayeb, a member of the Executive Committee of the Lebanon Football Association, told DW.

“It’s also sad that this, a place that usually brings joy and pulls people out of their stressful lives to come and watch games, has to be used like this.”

Some of the country’s football clubs have been busy helping out.

“Players and officials at second-division club Akhaa have volunteered at public schools where some displaced families were sheltered,” Chehayeb said.

“Clubs such as Safa and Nejmeh sheltered some families at their stadiums and provided food. Other clubs like Ansar helped with food parcels.”

Despite being unable to use dressing rooms and other facilities, some players are still training as clubs feel that players being around and interacting with the families helps lift spirits.

‘A sense of solidarity’

Anything that makes life in the stadium easier is welcome for its temporary residents, such as the family of Howaida Amin Mzannar who fled from Aitaroun, a village in southern Lebanon. It had become so dangerous that the family, which has been forced to flee in the past, was unable to bring any of its possessions.

“We have been suffering from the situation on the border for a long time,” Mzannar told DW. “Now we are here but it is so difficult, not knowing where you will be tomorrow, there is the psychological pressure due to the uncertainty of the future.”

The only comfort to be found comes in others, their new and sudden neighbors.

“There is a sense of solidarity among people; everyone is helping each other” Mzannar said.

“Life is simple and follows a daily routine: cleaning, organizing, sitting together, and the children are trying to create a sense of normal life.”

Hassan plans to continue helping in that regard.

“I never imagined I’d be displaced one day and become a coach at the same time. It’s God’s will — a coincidence that led me here,” he said.

“I’m truly happy here. Believe it or not, I feel like I want to stay here and train them for a year, two or three. In a year and a half, I could make national champions out of them.”

Sara Hteit in Beirut contributed to this report.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold

Former Georgia rugby captain Merab Sharikadze has been given an 11-year ban for his involvement in an “orchestrated scheme involving recreational drugs and sample substitution”.

Six internationals were charged in March following a joint investigation by World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) dubbed “Operation Obsidian”, which found five instances where players allegedly swapped urine samples to avoid detection. Employees of Georgia’s national anti-doping agency also tipped off players about upcoming tests, Wada said.

Sanctions have now been levied against the players involved and team doctor Nutsa Shamatava, who has received a nine-year suspension from the game.

Sharikadze, who won 104 caps and led Georgia at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, received the longest ban of the players. The 32-year-old spent time at Hartpury College near Gloucester as a teenager.

Giorgi Chkoidze (six years), Lasha Khmaladze (three years), Otar Lashkhi (three years), Miriani Modebadze (three years) and Lasha Lomidze (nine months) are the other Georgia internationals to be banned.

“The investigation was triggered when irregularities in urine samples were identified by World Rugby’s athlete passport management programme, covering an extended period of time prior to the men’s Rugby World Cup 2023 in France,” World Rugby said.

The governing body also suggested that its investigation had indicated that the sample substitution had been to conceal the use of cannabis and tramadol, rather than performance-enhancing substances.

Georgia finished bottom of their pool at the 2023 Rugby World Cup without a victory.

Outbound is a peaceful exploration game where you travel various types of biomes in your van and expand it using the resources you find. The van is the highlight of the game since you can craft items, store them, and build an entire living space with several machines on the van itself. Along with all these features, there is a method to check tire pressures and fill them as well.

Here is a short guide on checking tire pressure and filling air in them in Outbound.

Method to check tire pressure and fill them in Outbound

The van is basically your travel buddy in Outbound. You are required to take care of it and build on it as you explore the beautiful scenery. Even though you refuel it using fiber or wood logs or upgrade it to be faster, it might slow down after exploring for several days. This can be because of low tire pressures.

In order to check tire pressures, head to each tire and check how much pressure they have. If the tire pressure is lower than 100%, there will be an option to press ‘E’ and inflate them with more air. Make sure to inflate all four of them.

This might not be the most realistic way to inflate tires, but it is still quite realistic, particularly when the overall realism of the game is taken into consideration.

Also Read: Outbound Crafting guide: How to craft, download blueprint, and create vouchers

After inflating them to 100%, you will notice that they will not run out too quickly, specifically if you keep driving. This is because the tire pressures decrease slowly if you keep the van rolling. If you are static at a place and only focus on building your house above it, you might notice that the tire pressures will decrease quickly.

Another factor that determines how quickly tire pressures decrease is the van’s weight. The more you build on your van, the heavier it will be, and it will decrease the van’s tire pressure more quickly.

Apart from tire pressures, Outbound also has a decent amount of detailed van mechanics like engine temperature, energy use rating, charge rating, etc.