West Ham Women footballer Hawa Cissoko has opened up about the effects of fasting for Ramadan as a footballer. She went on record to praise the club for accomodating it in their inclusion policy. Cissoko joined West Ham in 2020 and is one of the many professional footballers who are fasting during Ramadan. She speaks about the holy month in the Muslim calendar which is set to last until May 1 this year.
“It means a lot of things because it’s like a new year starting because we know that we have to use this month to try to be the best human we can be. So, it’s like the beginning of something,” West Ham women footballer Hawa Cissoko said. “And at the end of Ramadan, the best thing is to try to keep some knowledge, some behavior, a lot of things and try to keep this for the next Ramadan coming.”
“Even when it’s not Ramadan time, I wake up every day in the morning to pray, so it’s changed nothing about my routine,” she added. “I eat a lot. I love food. I can have my lunch and 30 minutes later, I want to eat again. So, I think this is the hardest thing. When you’re in your head, you’re fasting, and you know why you’re fasting it’s completely different.”
“It’s not me going in and talking about this with them. It’s them coming all the time. It’s nice to hear that people want to help you,” Cissoko continued. “The physical trainer came and asked me that we have to make a plan about my training session, my gym session… and the nutritionist as well came to make this plan. And I was like, this is just amazing, this is nice, to help me to be better.”
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