“Every game, every team should have grass,” said David Beckham shortly after joining Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2007.

Sixteen years on, six MLS teams (over 20%) have artificial turf in their home grounds, including Atlanta United’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Inter Miami will play on Saturday with potentially Lionel Messi featuring.

“As a professional athlete, you can’t play a game like soccer on that sort of field,” said Beckham, who is now the co-owner of Inter Miami, after sitting out a match for LA Galaxy at Toronto’s BMO Field – which had artificial turf at the time – because of an ankle injury.

“What it does to your body as a soccer player, you’re in bits for three days after that,” added Beckham.

At Messi’s introductory media conference after joining Inter Miami, the 36-year-old explained that his “youth was spent on artificial turf, my whole life was on that pitch,” though when he moved to Europe and Barcelona he would play on grass.

“Truth is it’s been a while since I’ve played on artificial turf, but I have no problem adapting myself again,” said Messi.

Nearly all top-level clubs in Europe use natural grass pitches. Bodø/Glimt in Norway and Young Boys in Switzerland are a couple of exceptions, while several clubs in the Netherlands have used artificial surfaces, though the country’s top men’s league, the Eredivisie, announced earlier this year that all games must be played on natural grass from 2025.

Lower leg injuries

In the NFL, Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles tear on Monday has reignited the debate over whether the game should be played on natural grass or artificial surfaces.

Messi’s arrival to the MLS has also sparked a similar debate in US soccer about the potential health implications of playing on an artificial surface.

The science is conflicting as to whether artificial turf presents increased health concerns to those playing on it.

A study in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine released in 2022, which looked at ACL injuries in US high schools from 2007 to 2019, found that among all injuries, ACL injuries were more likely to occur on artificial turf than natural grass in both American football and girls’ soccer. However, no significant association was found in boys’ soccer.

The study also found that among lower-extremity injuries, ACL injuries were more likely to occur on artificial turf than natural grass in both boys’ soccer and girls’ soccer, with no association found in American football.

Meanwhile a study released in 2021 in the Current Orthopaedic Practice found that: “While playing surface generally does not appear to impact overall injury risk in soccer and rugby players, data is inconclusive among American football athletes. Lower-extremity injuries, in particular knee and ankle injuries, more commonly occur on artificial turf in comparison to natural grass.”

Lower leg injuries suffered on artificial turf aren’t just an issue for NFL players. Some women soccer players have expressed their unhappiness about taking to artificial pitches – as well as poorly maintained playing surfaces – and the injury risks that come with it.

A 3G pitch is an artificial field made up from rubber crumbs and synthetic grass.

There was controversy surrounding the Women’s World Cup in 2015 with players forced to play on artificial pitches, with some even saying it may have resulted in a lack of goals.

The vast majority of players much prefer playing on real grass, said Magill, with many feeling that injuries are more common on artificial surfaces.

Health risks

Atlanta United’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened in 2017. The artificial surface – designed by FieldTurf – is called CORE. FieldTurf said it “is designed to deliver a more realistic, textured, grass-like shape with optimal durability and resiliency.”

“So we know the friction coefficient, which is basically the forces between your shoe and the playing surface, are important. So in hockey, there’s very little, you’re sliding on ice for a good reason, you need to glide,” said Silvers-Granelli, who has a masters in physical therapy.

“In soccer or American football or lacrosse or field hockey, we need a certain amount of friction coefficient to perform.

“You need to have a little traction between your foot and the playing surface to change direction, to decelerate, to cut, to make a change based on if the ball is deflected.

“The problem is if that friction coefficient is too high, then that force can be attenuated in the knee and we know that that’s not optimal for the knee.

“The idea is to prepare athletes for any environmental scenario they’ll be in. If you train on grass and your away game is on turf, we don’t want to set you up for a failure.

“So we have to provide biomechanical and strengthening tools to these individuals so that they are not at risk based on any particular Sunday or Saturday that they have an away game.”

Artificial pitches tend to be used because of issues with climate and cost-saving, with Silvers-Granelli explaining that there has been an influx in synthetic surfaces in California due to environmental reasons.

Silvers-Granelli also said that a lot of elite athletes had become accustomed to adjusting their games to fit the different playing surfaces, but recommended playing on grass if possible to avoid injuries.

“So when we look at the speed of the game, the way they run, cut, decelerate, they tend to do it a little bit more slowly because they’re intrinsically protecting themselves, which is really fascinating and I think the athletes that are unable to do that could potentially have higher risk.”

Dr. Andrew Pearle, chief of sports medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, echoed Silvers-Granelli’s sentiment.

The issue of using artificial turf in NFL stadia and changing it for soccer matches is one raised by Rodgers’ former Green Bay Packers teammate and close friend David Bakhtiari, who published on X, formerly known as Twitter, his displeasure at the practice, saying: “You care more about soccer players than us.

“You plan to remove all artificial turf for the World Cup coming up. So clearly it’s feasible. I’m sick of this..Do better!”

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN on Wednesday that he’ll be meeting FIFA President Gianni Infantino next week to discuss the future of playing surfaces.

“They’ll be playing (the) World Cup,” said Goodell, referring to the 2026 tournament, which is being held in North America.

“They will not be putting grass in. They’ll be putting in a mixed grass, mixed grass with artificial surface, something that we’re working to try to see: ‘Is that a better surface for us?’ Because you have to look at climate too,” said Goodell.

“Is the field going to be good in September? Is it also going to be good in December and January?”

French great Thierry Henry, who played for the New York Red Bulls from 2010 to 2014, avoided playing on artificial turf altogether.

“Maybe, I need to remind you,” Henry said in 2011. “Turf is one of the most severe things I’ve seen for us to play on.”

Since moving to the MLS from Paris Saint-Germain, Messi has had a huge impact on the pitch for Inter Miami, as well as off it, notably in generating interest in soccer in the US.

Inter Miami, on a nine-game winless run prior to the 36-year-old’s debut, is now unbeaten in 11 games and captured its first trophy last month.

More than 70,000 fans are expected in Atlanta to watch Atlanta United play Inter Miami, but for his next trick just how will Messi potentially deal with playing on artificial surface?

Minnesota Vikings running back Alexander Mattison said he received racist messages following the team’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football.

Mattison shared two screenshots of messages via Instagram on Friday, saying that he received more than 60 “disgustingly disrespectful messages.” Both screenshots contained racial slurs and told Mattison to take his own life.

“Y’all can come at me all you want about fantasy and ‘you suck’ blah blah blah,” Mattison wrote on Instagram. “I really could care less. But this sh*t is unacceptable. … Really reflect on WTF you say and how it could affect someone. Under the helmet, I am a human.. a father.. a son. This is sick.”

The screenshots were later deleted from his account.

The National Football League and the Vikings both issued statements on social media in support of Mattison.

“We are sickened by the hatred and racial slurs directed toward Alexander Mattison following last night’s game,” the Vikings said in the statement.

“There simply is no room for racist words or actions in sports or society. The Vikings will continue to fight to eliminate hate, to educate and to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community that respects and values our unique backgrounds. We stand with Alexander and all players who, unfortunately, experience this type of ignorant and prejudicial behavior, and we ask our fans to continue to fight to eliminate racism.”

The NFL added it “strongly condemns” the racist comments, calling the behavior “completely unacceptable in the NFL or anywhere else.”

“We stand firmly with Alexander and remind fans to remember the humanity of all players and celebrate their contributions to the game we all love,” the league said.

CJ LaBoy, Mattison’s agent, posted on social media in support of his client, saying he was “proud” of him for sharing.

“These types of messages hit these players inboxes all the time. This type of hate, vitriol has no place in our society, period. As disgusting as this is, I’m proud of @AlexMattison22 for sharing,” LaBoy said.

“Universities, stadiums, teams should ban anyone that uses such language for life. There’s no place in our world for that disgusting behavior and there’s certainly no place in sports,” LaBoy said.

The 25-year-old Mattison rushed for 28 yards and lost a fumble in the first quarter during Thursday’s 34-28 loss.

Mattison was drafted in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Vikings out of Boise State. Currently, in his fifth season, Mattison has rushed for 1,732 yards and 11 touchdowns in his career. He was named the starter this season after backing up Dalvin Cook who left for the New York Jets this past offseason.

The Vikings’ next game is on September 24 when the team hosts the Los Angeles Chargers.

A tearful Andy Murray dedicated his Davis Cup win to his grandmother after saying in his post-match interview that it was her funeral that day and he had missed it to play in the tournament.

“Today is a tough day for me,” Murray began saying before he was overcome with emotion and the crowd began cheering him on in encouragement.

“It’s my Gran’s funeral today,” he managed to say before stopping again and apologizing. “I’m sorry to my family that I’m not able to be there but Gran, that one is for you.”

Murray’s 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-4 comeback victory over Leandro Riedi gave Great Britain a 1-0 lead in the tie against Switzerland before the doubles pairing of Dan Evans and Neal Skupsi won their match to complete a 2-1 victory for the Britons.

“I spoke to my dad about it and he said ‘she’d want you to play’. He said ‘make sure you win’ – so I did,” Murray added, according to the BBC.

The former world No. 1 completed his victory with an ace and recorded his 33rd Davis Cup singles win, a tournament he won with Great Britain in 2015.

He had led Riedi 5-2 in the first set, before spurning two set points at 5-3 and another two in the tiebreak, but he recovered from losing the first set in this manner to give Great Britain a winning start in the tie.

“Incredible to get through that one. It easily could have gone the other way,” Murray said afterwards, according to the ATP. “It was ridiculous, the shots he was pulling off. Amazing returning. I kept fighting, managed to stay focused and managed to turn it around.”

The win puts Great Britain top of Group B after two matches in the group stage and in a strong position as it seeks to reach the Final Eight.

Now a post-tropical cyclone, Lee continues to churn hurricane-strength winds early Saturday morning while delivering rainfall to parts of southeastern New England and Atlantic Canada, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Lee, which was a Category 1 hurricane earlier Saturday, is still expected to impact the region despite the status change.

“Lee is expected to be at or just below hurricane strength when it reaches Nova Scotia later today. Weakening is forecast tonight and Sunday while Lee moves across Atlantic Canada,” the National Hurricane Center said Saturday in its 5 a.m. advisory, adding the storm has lost sufficient tropical characteristics to be considered a hurricane.

The most significant impacts on the US are the possibility of some coastal flooding and tropical-storm-force winds churning in coastal New England, particularly Maine where a state emergency has been declared. A hurricane watch is in effect for the southern coasts of the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Lee had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph as its core is around 220 miles south-southeast of Eastport, Maine, as of 5 a.m. ET Saturday, the hurricane center said. Lee was 230 miles (365 kilometers) south-southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Lee is not expected to make landfall in the US.

Despite being hundreds of miles away from the US East Coast, tropical storm conditions were battering the coasts of Massachusetts and Nova Scotia early Saturday morning as similar impacts loom for Maine, hurricane center forecasters said.

“These conditions are likely to lead to downed trees and potential power outages,” the hurricane center warned.

Hurricane-strength winds could be felt up to 140 miles from Lee’s center while tropical-storm-force winds extended by up to 390 miles.

A sustained wind of 43 mph and 59 mph gust were recently measured at Dennis, Massachusetts, the hurricane center said.

In addition to ferocious winds, Lee could also unleash up to 6 inches of rain in far northern Maine on Saturday, with neighboring New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island also at risk of seeing heavy precipitation. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency Friday due to the storm.

Tropical storm warnings are in effect for the coasts of Massachusetts all the way north through Maine, including the popular island destinations of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts. The warning extends further north into Canada.

At the coast from the Long Island Sound north through Maine, flooding of 1 to 3 feet above ground level is possible if Lee’s storm surge coincides with high tide, according to National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan.

Canada and US residents along shore urged to stay indoors

National Hurricane Center deputy director Jamie Rhome warned that people should avoid driving near shores and urged them to stay home to ride out the storm. He also noted there’s a high rip current risk extending from southern Florida stretching thousands of miles north to Maine.

“The waves from this big hurricane produce a current that goes out to sea and will pull you out,” Rhome said Friday evening in a brief video update. “So, if you’re going to go to the beach this weekend, swim near a lifeguard.”

In anticipation of those dangerous waves, local officials in Toms River, New Jersey, barred swimming this weekend at Ortley Beach, according to a news release from the township. Violators may be ticketed.

“Lifeguards will be on duty Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to enforce the Red Flag ban on swimming. The beach itself will be open,” officials said in news release Friday.

Meanwhile in Canada, officials in New Brunswick cautioned residents to prepare for power outages and stock up on food and medication for at least 72 hours as they encouraged people to stay indoors.

“Once the storm starts, remember please stay at home if at all possible,” said Kyle Leavitt, director of New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization. “Nothing good can come from checking out the big waves and how strong the wind truly is. Not only are you putting yourself at risk, but you are putting at risk the lives of the emergency services personnel who may have to assist you.”

The Italian city of Venice and its lagoon were not listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage in Danger list during a meeting of the UN agency in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, according to Italy’s culture ministry.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee had warned in July that Italy was not doing enough to protect the city from the threat of overtourism, development and climate change.

It had recommended that it be added to its heritage in danger list. However, the vote on Thursday did not pass that recommendation, according to the culture ministry.

The Italian culture ministry welcomed the outcome of the UNESCO vote in Saudi Arabia, describing the attempt to register the city on the list as “purely political.”

“Great Victory at UNESCO…Venice is not at risk,” tweeted its mayor Luigi Brugnaro on Thursday.

The city has been in the headlines throughout the year, including when a green blob discolored the Grand Canal, and when there were arrests of badly behaved tourists.

Recently, as part of its strategy to control tourism, the city adopted an entrance fee of €5 for day-trippers starting next spring.

The fee will apply to those who are not in rental properties or hotels and will start as a 30-day experiment.

After the decision, the World Heritage Committee said Venice still faces major challenges and asked Italy to continue to protect it.

In travel news this week: The family of seven hiking America’s longest trails, a Portuguese wine flood and California’s bid for cannabis cafes, plus airplane transport woes from Atlanta to Bilbao.

AWOL at the airport

A Swiss International Air Lines plane took off from Zurich this past weekend filled with passengers but without a single checked suitcase on board because of a lack of ground staff. After an initial delay, Flight WK226, operated by SWISS on behalf of Edelweiss Air, set off for Bilbao on Saturday without checked baggage so the plane would be able to make its return flight to Zurich before the night-time flight ban kicked in.

Air traffic controller shortages also continue to be a problem globally: US airline execs are warning that years of flight disruption lie ahead.

In happier news, a Delta passenger’s dog that went missing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, the world’s busiest airport, has been found safe after three weeks.

And Japan Airlines has started a yearlong trial of a service that lets you rent a set of clothes and receive it at your hotel on arrival, which could be handy if your bags go on tour without you.

Take a hike

Aim to cover 12-15 miles a day and don’t carry a rucksack that’s more than 10% of your body weight: That’s two of many lessons our writer learned while hiking Spain’s Camino de Santiago. Read his advice for tackling the celebrated pilgrimage route.

A newborn baby was the most precious item of cargo transported on hikes by the Netteburgs, a family of seven who together have been tackling America’s longest trails, including the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide. They now say they’re eyeing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in New Zealand. (And stay tuned for next week’s roundup where we’ll bring you a family twice this size hiking the Appalachian Trail).

From high to dry

Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes might be coming to California, with a bill now awaiting the governor’s signature that would allow venues to offer food, coffee and even live music alongside cannabis.

If alcohol is your chosen vice, though, you may be interested in our guide to the legal drinking age in destinations around the world. Cambodia and Burkina Faso might surprise you.

You’ll be too late to enjoy last weekend’s Portuguese wine flood, though. A river of red gushed through the streets of the town of Anadia after storage containers holding enough vino for three million bottles burst. Luckily, no one was hurt in the incident. Watch here.

Amanpour’s 40 years at CNN

Farther east and inland, a war-traumatized bear that was found at an abandoned zoo in Donetsk is set to be adopted by Five Sisters Zoo in Scotland. The 12-year-old Asiatic black bear has been named Yampil, after the village where he was rescued.

In case you missed it

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Why a blended wing could be the thing.

She bought an airplane ticket she thought was a scam.

Then her future husband was on board.

Finding a vacation rental in New York City just got harder. 

And the Italian city of Florence is also cracking down on Airbnb.

The site for the first atomic blast is opening for one day in October.

You’ve seen “Oppenheimer.” Now experience the history first-hand.

Winter is coming. And for yet another ski resort in France, that means facing up to the reality that there isn’t enough snow to carry on.

La Sambuy, a town which runs a family skiing destination near Mont Blanc in the French Alps, has decided to dismantle its ski lifts because global warming has shrunk its ski season to just a few weeks, meaning it’s no longer profitable to keep them open.

Last winter, however, there was only “four weeks of snow, and even then, not much snow,” he added. That meant “very quickly, stones and rocks appeared on the piste.”

Able to open for fewer than five weeks during January and February, Dalex said the resort was looking at an annual operating loss of roughly 500,000 euros ($530,000). Keeping the lifts going alone costs 80,000 euros per year.

La Sambuy isn’t a huge resort, with just three lifts and a handful of pistes reaching up to a top height of 1,850 meters (about 6,070 feet).

But with a range of slopes running from expert “black” to beginner “green” and relatively cheap ski passes, it was popular with families seeking more of a low-key Alps experience than offered by bigger, higher-altitude destinations.

UK snow report website On The Snow calls it “an idyllic place to visit, with exceptional panoramic views and everything you need in a friendly resort.”

This summer, as crunch time came for planning the winter season, the decision was taken by La Sambuy’s town council to close the resort which it has run since 2016. While its skiing infrastructure is due to be dismantled as soon as possible, it’s hoped the town can still pull in visitors.

Dalex said that the resort, which also markets itself as a summer hiking and outdoors destination, will instead become a place for “discovering and protecting nature, going on walks, doing sports, if possible.”

La Sambuy’s website now carries a message saying that the ski resort “closed definitively” on September 10, following the town council’s decision. “Thank you all for this last summer season 2023, and for all the wonderful years spent by your side,” it said.

Snow supply risk

La Sambuy is not the only French ski resort facing a meltdown. Last year, Saint-Firmin, another small Alpine ski destination, opted to remove its ski lift after seeing its winter season dwindle from months to weeks, a situation also blamed on climate change.

Mountain Wilderness, a French environmental group, says it has dismantled 22 ski lifts in France since 2001, and estimates that there are still 106 abandoned ski lifts across 59 sites in the country.

According to a report published in August by the scientific journal Nature Climate Change, 53% of 2,234 ski resorts surveyed in Europe are likely to experience “a very high snow supply risk” at 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) of global warming above pre-industrial levels, without use of artificial snow.

A report published in January in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal found a “substantial possibility” of global temperature rises crossing this 2-degree Celsius threshold by mid-century.

La Sambuy’s Dalex said that “all winter sports resorts in France are impacted by global warming,” particularly those at a medium mountain altitude between 1,000 and 1,500 meters.

Not everyone in his town is willing to give up without a fight though.

A petition was launched this year by an association called All Together For La Sambuy (Tous Ensemble Pour La Sambuy), urging to keep the resort, and others, open by adopting a new more “durable” model – chiefly, by operating the chair lift in summer to take visitors up the mountain,

The petition has acquired more than 1,900 signatures and, according to Christian Bailly, the president of the association, the group is taking legal action to reverse the town council’s decision.

He said closure is “harmful” to the local town and territory, adding that the ski resort is “a social element of our small town of 7,500 inhabitants.”

Dalex says the cause of the closure is clear. He said that “global warming is evidently underway” and happening “even faster than scientists predicted.” He said it was increasingly difficult for ski resorts to function, with many being “forced to adapt” to a new climate.

Libya is racing to bury its dead as bodies pile up in the streets of Derna, the northern coastal city devastated by flooding after a torrential downpour smashed through two dams, washing homes into the sea.

The death toll rose to over 6,000 people as of Wednesday morning local time, according to Saadeddin Abdul Wakil, health ministry undersecretary of the Unity Government in Tripoli, one of two rival governments operating in the country.

Morgues are full in hospitals that remain out of service despite the desperate need to treat survivors of the disaster, according to staff. In Egypt, the government buried 87 Egyptian victims who died in Libya, according to the country’s emigration ministry.

Around 10,000 more are missing, potentially either swept out to sea or buried beneath rubble that’s strewn throughout the city once home to over 100,000 people, authorities say.

More than 30,000 people have been displaced by the flooding in Derna, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya said Wednesday.

The significant damage to infrastructure in the region has made some stricken regions inaccessible to humanitarian groups. Only two out of the seven entry points to Derna now available.

Emergency teams are searching through piles of debris for survivors and bodies, as officials attempt to honor Islamic beliefs that the dead should receive burial rites within three days.

“The Martyrs’ committee (has been set up to) identify the missing people and to implement procedures for identifying and burial of in accordance with Sharia and legal laws and standards,” said Libya’s minister of state for cabinet affairs, Adel Juma.

The destruction caused by Storm Daniel has made a mammoth mission even harder for rescuers trying to clear roads and debris to find survivors.

The storm took out communications, frustrating rescue efforts and causing anxiety among family members outside Libya who are waiting for news of missing loved ones.

Ayah, a Palestinian woman with cousins in Derna, said she has been unable to contact them since the floods.

Libya was convulsed by the 2011 uprising against the rule of Muammar Gaddafi and ripped apart by civil war. The scale of the destruction underscores the vulnerability of a country that has for years grappled with warring factions and chaos.

The UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNU), led by Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, sits in Tripoli in northwest Libya, while its eastern rival is controlled by commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA), who support the eastern-based parliament led by Osama Hamad.

Derna, which lies some 300 kilometers (190 miles) east of Benghazi, falls under the control of Haftar and his eastern administration.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, urged all Libyan political actors to overcome “political deadlocks and divisions” and act collectively, in a statement on Wednesday.

Not prepared for such a ‘catastrophe’

Storm Daniel looks to have created one of the deadliest floods on record in North Africa.

The very strong low-pressure system moved into the Mediterranean before developing into a tropical-like cyclone and crossing the Libyan coast. Daniel also brought unprecedented flooding to Greece last week, where the death toll was much lower.

The deadly storm comes in an unprecedented year of climate disasters and record-breaking weather extremes, from devastating wildfires to oppressive heat.

While the floods affected several cities across the region, Derna suffered the most damage after two dams collapsed, washing entire neighborhoods into the churning sea.

“Libya was not prepared for a catastrophe like that,” said Osama Aly, an Emergency and Ambulance service spokesperson.

‘Catastrophic conditions’

Medical professionals on the ground in Derna have described scenes of bodies accumulating near local hospitals, as aid workers struggle to bury the thousands of victims who have died.

His colleague, Dr Aisha, said, “We are calling on all relevant parties and international aid agencies to quickly and urgently interfere to end these catastrophic conditions.

“The situation is dire. There is a very high death toll. And we are now faced with the problem of being unable to deal with these bodies, or bury them. We are trying to get the appropriate humanitarian assistance to get these bodies to freezers.

“We need the appropriate groups to urgently take action and interfere to help with identifying the DNA on these bodies … Of course in the meantime there is nothing we can do to prevent this environmental disaster from breaking out.

“These here are only half of the bodies that we have seen. There are other bodies in the other side of the city,” she added.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) urgently called on the global community to address the “catastrophic humanitarian crisis unfolding in Libya.”

Elie Abouaoun, IRC’s director for Libya, said the committee is “gravely concerned about the protection needs of those caught up in this tragedy, especially thousands of women and children who have to leave their homes in search of safety.”

Abouaoun said that many hospitals have become unable to deal with the numbers of survivors in need of treatment, adding that fears of waterborne diseases are compounding stress on Libya’s health systems.

“Access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities will be required to prevent a further crisis within a crisis.”

Countries and organizations send help

Foreign aid is now pouring into the country. On Wednesday, Libya’s western neighbor Tunisia sent a search and rescue team of around 52 people. This included four search dogs, three doctors, a diving team and a water extraction contingent, Tunisia’s state news agency TAP reported.

Eight Algerian army aircraft carrying humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies, clothing and tents also started arriving in Libya on Wednesday, Libyan state news agency LANA said.

European Union member states including Germany, Romania, and Finland, have offered tents, field beds and blankets, 80 generators and food items, as well as hospital tents and water tanks via the bloc’s Civil Protection Mechanism.

The EU also released an initial €500,000 ($540,000) in humanitarian funding, after Libyan authorities called for international aid.

Turkish aircraft delivering humanitarian aid arrived in Libya on Tuesday, according to Turkey’s Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country would send 168 search and rescue teams and humanitarian aid to Benghazi, according to state run news agency Anadoulu Agency.

Italy is sending a civil defense team to assist with rescue operations, the country’s Civil Protection Department said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Tripoli announced that its special envoy, ambassador Richard Norland, had made an official declaration of humanitarian need.

This “will authorize initial funding that the United States will provide in support of relief efforts in Libya. We are coordinating with UN partners and Libyan authorities to assess how best to target official US assistance,” it posted on X (formally known as Twitter).

United Arab Emirates President, Zayed Al Nahyan, has also directed to send aid and search and rescue teams while offering his condolences to those affected by the catastrophe, state news agency reported.

Following a civil war and a political standoff that has lasted almost a decade, Libya is struggling to deal with a catastrophic flood that is believed to have killed at least 5,300 people and left over 10,000 missing in the country’s northeast.

Split between two rival administrations since 2014 and having failed to hold presidential elections, Libya faces an uphill battle when it comes to severe natural disasters. The North African country’s fragmented state has made it unprepared for the flooding, experts say, and has the potential to hamper delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid.

The Libyan coastal town of Derna is one of the most severely hit cities by the floods that followed Storm Daniel, which formed on September 5, inundating parts of Greece before moving into the Mediterranean.

But the storm is only the latest misery to befall the town. It was the scene of a bloody battle with ISIS in 2015, and then in 2017 became the target of an intense military campaign by Khalifa Haftar – a renegade commander who controls swathes of eastern Libya – as the last bastion of opposition to his hold on the region.

With the city in desperate need of aid, it is unclear how it will be delivered and distributed as Derna lies in a part of the country controlled by a government most of the international community doesn’t recognize.

Libya’s two governments are giving conflicting numbers of victims following the disaster.

While the Eastern parliament-backed government reports at least 5,300 people dead, the internationally recognized government in Tripoli claims more than 6,000 have been killed.

The flooding in Libya comes just days after the strongest earthquake to hit Morocco’s center in more than a century killed 3,000 over the weekend. But the situation in Morocco is different, experts say, as there is one government responsible for receiving and distributing aid, which isn’t the case in Libya.

Unlike in Morocco, “this disaster has the hand of man written all over it, and it is stained with their blood,” said Anas El Gomati, director of the Sadeq Institute think tank in Tripoli.

Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. In 2014, the country fell into a civil war that led to it splitting between warring factions.

Nearly 10 years later, a political standoff continues between an internationally recognized government in the capital, Tripoli, in the west of the country, that is led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, and a rival rebel administration in the eastern city of Benghazi, led by Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA), that is supported by some states.

“Libya, even when you approach it from its most advanced cities like Tripoli or Benghazi, is not equipped,” said Jalel Harchaoui, an associate fellow specializing in Libya at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, adding that the situation is made worse as the floods have hit the “most neglected municipality” (Derna) in the particularly troubled province of Cyrenaica.

‘We knew ahead of time’

Derna, where emergency response workers say hospitals are no longer operational and bodies have been left on sidewalks outside the morgues, lies some 300 kilometers (190 miles) east of Benghazi and falls under the control of Haftar’s administration.

A city of nearly 100,000, it was the epicenter of ISIS’ 2015 debut in Libya, Harchaoui said. Following liberation from ISIS in late 2017, the city resisted control by Haftar, who in 2017 said he would “choke” it with a siege when it was controlled by Islamists. It has been on sour terms with the commander ever since.

Even after Haftar took control of Derna in 2018, plans for reconstruction did not materialize and the city’s infrastructure remained in tatters, experts say.

“The system there is overwhelmed and was underperforming before this disaster,” said Gomati.

Gomati said that the problem goes beyond the political divisions, adding that emergency response authorities in the eastern government were lacking in preparedness.

A day before the storm hit, the office of Libya’s eastern premier, Osama Hamad, issued a warning to citizens of Derna and its surrounding cities ahead of the expected weather conditions. The interior ministry in Tripoli had also issued a warning three days ahead.

“All citizens must exercise caution, especially those close to the coast, due to thunderstorms, heavy rains and rising sea levels,” Derna’s municipal council warned September 9 on its Facebook page, adding that residents should limit movement unless necessary.

A curfew was set in place from 10:00 p.m. local time, until the disaster was over, the council announced in a separate post, and the evacuation of certain towns was ordered.

On Monday, the council said: “The situation in the city is out of control. International intervention is needed.”

Osama Aly, spokesperson for the Emergency and Ambulance Service in Libya, suggested there was negligence by authorities in preparing for the potential damage from the storm.

“Libya was not prepared for a catastrophe like that,” he told Al Hurra channel earlier. “We are admitting there were shortcomings even though this is the first time we face that level of catastrophe.”

Derna’s violent past and difficult relationship with Haftar’s administration “proved calamitous during the recent natural disaster,” Harchaoui said, adding that authorities made “grievous miscalculations” when responding to the crisis.

Al-Mismari told Al-Hadath TV Monday that from the moment authorities learned of the storm, the LNA was ready to “limit losses as much as possible.”

He added that LNA support is present in every city hit by the storm, and that several of the LNA’s troops have gone missing amid rescue operations. The spokesman also criticized the rival government in the west, saying its response was limited to “a small tweet on X,” formerly known as Twitter, and that the eastern government is handling the crisis on its own.

On Tuesday, Al-Mismari told Al-Arabiya TV that Libya and the eastern authorities are “not equipped to handle this level of damage,” and that at least three different specialist rescue teams are needed.

“We need massive numbers (of aid workers),” he said.

Responding to criticism regarding lack of preparedness by the LNA, Al-Mismari said that in such situations, 50% of the responsibility falls on authorities (LNA) and 50% falls on citizens.

Analysts and some response workers say the eastern government has lacked efficiency in its efforts.

“It is the incompetence of these individuals, of these political elites, (who) are responsible for clinging onto power rather than giving Libyans the right to vote for the last ten years,” Gomati said. “We knew ahead of time.”

Political rift may hamper aid distribution

A number of nations have pledged aid but it’s unclear how it will be distributed. The administration in Benghazi is not recognized by the United Nations, but Haftar has gathered a number of regional and international backers amid his war with Tripoli, and Islamists in the east, including Italy, Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

Most countries that have delivered aid to Libya have sent it to Benghazi, with the exception of Algeria, which remains at odds with Haftar’s army and chose to send its aid to Tripoli – more than 1,000 miles away from the affected region.

Italy has responded to Libya’s request for support and is sending a civil defense team to assist with rescue operations, the country’s Civil Protection Department said Tuesday. Turkey, which backs the Tripoli government, also said it is mobilizing personnel and supplies to assist authorities in eastern Libya.

The Egyptian military has also sent three aircraft carrying medical supplies, food, and a team of 25 rescuers equipped for aid operations. A fourth aircraft will be used to evacuate the injured and deceased, the military said.

Analysts are skeptical of the extent to which the eastern government will allow access into Derna.

“I don’t know if they can be trusted to allow organizations and activists and human rights groups, or even aid groups to access the city,” Gomati said, adding that the eastern government has spent the last few years isolating Derna.

Even if aid does get to Derna, Harchaoui said, there’s no guarantee that it will be distributed in an equal and efficient manner.

“We have a good relationship with officials in both governments,” Ramadan said.

The vast majority of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad says it will refuse to be called up for the country’s two upcoming Women’s Nations League matches as it continues to push for “real structural changes” in Spanish soccer, following the fallout from ex-soccer boss Luis Rubiales’ unwanted kiss on La Roja star Jennifer Hermoso.

For nearly a month, Spain has been rocked by the incident between ex-Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Rubiales and Hermoso, which has overshadowed the team’s historic victory.

Spain was due to announce a squad for its next two matches on Friday but has now postponed the decision after 39 players, including 21 of the 23-woman World Cup squad, signed a joint letter condemning RFEF.

“As of today, as we have communicated to RFEF, the changes which have been made are not enough so that the players feel in a safe place, where women are respected, women’s football is supported and where we can give our all,” the letter said, which was posted by two-time Ballon d’Or Féminin winner Alexia Putellas on X, formerly Twitter.

“We wish to end this statement expressing that the players of the Spanish women’s national team are professional players, and what most fills us with pride is putting on the shirt of the national team and always taking our country to the highest places.

“Because of that, we believe it is the moment to fight to show that these situations and practices have no place in our football or in our society, that the current structure needs change and we are doing this so that the next generations can have a much more equal football and one at the level which we all deserve.”

In the letter, the players outlined a number of changes they wanted to see within the Spanish federation, including restructuring the women’s football organization, the office of the presidency and the secretary general, the communications and marketing departments, and the integrity department.

“As stated previously, we are breaking down in a detailed way the changes requested so that these type of attitudes never again happen and with the goal of having absolute transparency,” the letter added.

World players’ union FIFPRO posted on X in support of the players’ decision saying, “FIFPRO fully supports the Spain Women’s National Team in their united call for change. #SeAcabó (It’s over).”

Two-time NBA champion and Spanish basketball legend Pau Gasol also added his voice to players, posting: “You have all of my support.”

More change needed

The latest development comes after more than 80 Spanish soccer players – including all of Spain’s 2023 World Cup squad – had put their name on a letter supporting Hermoso on August 25, originally saying they would not return to the national team “if the current leaders continue” in their posts and if there wasn’t “real structural changes” to the federation.

As a result, interim RFEF president Pedro Rocha began to make moves as part of his “regeneration” of the federation, firing controversial coach Jorge Vilda despite Spain’s unprecedented World Cup win and appointing his deputy, Montse Tomé – the first woman to take over the role. Rocha then vowed in a meeting with the president of the High Council of Sport, Víctor Francos, to make more “structural changes” in RFEF.

The announcement from the players is bound to leave Tomé struggling to field a competitive team against Sweden and Switzerland on September 22 and 26.

The development comes after Rubiales testified in Spain’s National Court in Madrid on Friday morning after being summoned by the presiding judge to aid in the court’s investigation into potential charges of sexual assault and coercion against him.

Rubiales resigned from his position on Sunday following weeks of pressure from all spheres of Spanish society and has now been handed a restraining order and told not to go within 200 meters of Hermoso.

How we got here

The dissatisfaction felt by Spanish players dates back beyond September last year, when 15 members of the senior women’s squad sent personally signed letters to RFEF via email to announce they would no longer play for the national team unless there were wholesale changes made throughout the coaching staff.

The identical letters said that “the situation” within the Spanish national team – about which RFEF was “aware” – had been affecting the players’ “emotional state” and health.

Of the 15 players who signed the letters, only three were in Spain’s World Cup squad: Mariona Caldentey, Aitana Bonmatí and Ona Batlle.

Despite the off-field struggles, a young Spanish side produced a magical World Cup run to defy the odds and clinch a memorable title in Australia and New Zealand.

However, success on the pitch continued to be accompanied by a tense atmosphere in the squad and the long-standing animosity between some of the country’s best players, Vilda’s technical staff and RFEF.

Following the team’s victories against the Netherlands and Sweden in the World Cup quarterfinals and semifinals, videos went viral on social media of what appeared to be cold reactions from some of Spain’s substituted players towards Vilda and his staff, as well as during the post-match celebrations.

One clip showed Vilda trying to celebrate with a handful of players following the win over the Netherlands, only to appear to be ignored.

Now that Vilda and Rubiales have left their positions, RFEF would have hoped to kick-start a new chapter in women’s soccer, but Friday’s news shows there is still plenty more work to do.