How wars impacted basketball, from the lens of Syrian president

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa attended the reopening of the al-Fayhaa Indoor Sports Hall on Monday, marking the occasion with a friendly basketball game between Syria and Lebanon.

The venue had undergone years of rehabilitation after it was struck by mortar fire in 2015, an attack that killed a child and damaged the indoor court at the height of fighting in the Syrian civil war.

Speaking at the event, al-Sharaa described basketball as “one of the games closest to our hearts,” but said it had been abandoned during years of conflict. The reopening, he suggested, was part of a broader return to normal life in the capital.

On the court, the president drew cheers from the crowd as he stepped to the free-throw line before finishing with a layup, with several cabinet ministers in attendance.

Al Sharaa’s appearance also builds on a growing public image that blends politics with informal outreach. In November 2025, ahead of a landmark visit to the United States, he was filmed playing basketball with senior American military officials, including commanders from the U.S. Central Command.

The video, shared online by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, showed al-Sharaa running plays alongside U.S. officers as Damascus and Washington explored closer coordination, including potential cooperation against the Islamic State group.