Every year, we see so much growth and potential in Middle Eastern sports. Despite the fact that many events in the UAE were cancelled due to the pandemic, Arab athletes have proven to be among the best in a variety of sports, including football, swimming, running, taekwondo, and others.

Female athletes have also made their countries proud by winning medals and making an impact with their stellar performance, so the field is not limited to male athletes only.

In this article, we will talk about the top Arab players and their performance in 2021. Let’s get started!

Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah has been crowned as the most important Arab athlete of 2021 by Hashem Ali of Arabicbet.org. He is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays for the club Liverpool as a forward and captain of the Egyptian National Team. He had an amazing year in 2021 and proved himself yet again as the best Arab footballer of his time. He scored 40 goals and 16 assists for his club and scored 100 goals total in 2021. He also helped his national team reach the final stage of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

He started his senior career in 2010 and is one of the most highly paid Egyptian players of all time. He was also named the CAF African Footballer of the Year in 2017 and 2018. In 2022, Salah is hoping to win another Champions League and create an impact in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Rababe Arafi

Rababe Arafi is a Moroccan middle-distance runner that specializes in 1500 meters. She holds the Moroccan national record in the mile run. She started her international career in 2007 and has represented Morocco in World Championships in Athletics in 2013, 2015, and 2017.

She is a three-time medalist in the African Championships in Athletics and is one of the top Arab players and female athletes. She also competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and placed fifth in the 1500 meters race.

Achraf Hakimi

Achraf Hakimi is a professional footballer and one of the best Middle East sports performers in 2021. He plays for Morocco’s national team and also as a right wing-back for Paris Saint-Germain. Achraf Hakimi started his football career by joining Real Madrid’s youth setup in 2006 and made his debut in the team at the first match of the 2016 International Champions Cup. He scored his first goal in La-Liga in a win against Sevilla.

In 2021, he scored 3 goals and 3 assists for his new club and 2 goals, and 1 assist for his country’s national team. He is considered one of the best attacking full-backs in the world.

Riyad Mahrez

Riyad Mahrez is another professional Arab footballer who plays for Manchester City as a winger and is also the captain of Algeria’s national team. He started his professional career as a youth player for French Club AAS Sarcelles. He switched many teams before signing up for Leicester City, where he helped them win the Championship.

He joined Manchester City in 2018 and won the Premier League, EFL, and FA Cup in his first season. He was also named the CAF’s African Footballer of the Year in 2016. In 2021, he was shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or and GOAL50 because of his phenomenal performance the previous year with 28 goals and 16 assists and helping his team reach the Champions Premier League.

Hedaya Malak

Hedaya Malak is an Egyptian taekwondo practitioner. She started at the age of 6 and won Egypt’s Championship when she was 14. She participated in the 2012 London Olympics and reached the quarterfinals. She also participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics and won the bronze medal by defeating Raheleh Asemani.

She also represented Egypt in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won the women’s 67kg taekwondo’s bronze-medal event. She is the only female athlete to win two medals in two consecutive Olympics.

Besides these, many other amazing male and female Arab athletes have significantly contributed to the sports world. New talent is also emerging every year, and we hope to see more phenomenal performances from our top and favorite players in 2022. We hope this article helped!