When a World Cup Team Needs a Trim, the Barbershop Comes to Them

Maram Hammadi is very good at small talk.

As the owner of Jazz Barbershop just north of Seattle, Hammadi often talks soccer with his customers, who know well that he and his crew of barbers are big fans. The barbershop even hosts a pickup game nearby every Sunday for clients and staff.

But when Mohamed Salah, the star captain of the Egyptian national team, sat down for a trim ahead of a World Cup game last month, Hammadi was at a loss for words. Instead, Salah peppered Hammadi with questions about his life.

“You know when you speak to your dad and you feel like you’re talking to a mentor, and whatever he says you use it as an education? It felt the same,” Hammadi said in an interview this week.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/sports/world-cup-egypt-seattle-barbershop.html