Lebanese Concordia students keep soccer dreams alive

Jad Harb and Talal Selman foster the soccer community they wish they had with All Star Xperience

SportsFeatureJared Lackman-Mincoff — Published September 17, 2024 5 minutes

Originally from Beirut, they both started playing soccer from a young age. For Selman, the pitch became his home at four years old, and he began playing for his school teams as a defender. Harb played with his friends on the street, soon following suit and becoming a goalkeeper at school.

“Going into it, I started thinking more that I want to do this as a living,” Harb said.

Saad Balhawan coached Harb starting in first grade and all the way through various levels of the Lebanese national team. Balhawan believed that Harb had the dedication and skill set for a successful soccer career, being one of the best national team players he had ever seen.

“He has passion. He loves football too much,” Balhawan said.

Balhawan trusted Harb so much that, during one tournament match, he had Harb play as a striker when his team needed a goal, and had him retreat to goalkeeper when he wanted to preserve the result.

Harb and Selman often faced each other, playing for rival schools and club teams. Both got to know each other well, but their friendship only truly took off when they became teammates on the under-20 Lebanese national team.

After joining the national team, they quickly adopted a new routine that included several practices and games per week. They felt comfortable. It felt as if their dream of playing professional soccer was within reach.

But their world came crashing down when they least expected it. The 2019 Lebanese financial crisis, one of the worst in recorded history, dashed their dreams.

“Everyone's money got stuck in the banks and a lot of people who had money woke up the next day and didn't have any more,” Selman said.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut port explosion in August 2020 only exacerbated this. 

Harb and Selman were teenagers who, by their own admission, did not fully understand what was going on. But it became brutally clear once the crisis altered their life paths.

“One day, I wake up, and my father tells me, ‘Listen, you’re not going to do your undergrad here. It’s too unstable. We don’t know what’s going to happen the next day,’” Selman said.

In the fall of 2021, Montreal became their new home. Currently, they are in their fourth year of industrial engineering at Concordia University. Sticking closely together, both share the same courses and assignments.

“If you go to any of our lectures,” Harb said, “you’ll see us sitting right beside each other, just talking about school or business.”

After arriving in Montreal, they were eager to keep soccer alive in their daily lives. They entered several tournaments and small leagues until they found teams that would take them in.

Selman began playing in 2023 for Mont-Royal Outremont, a semi-professional club in Quebec’s Ligue 1. Harb suited up in the same year for the Club de soccer Montréal Centre in the Ligue de soccer élite du Québec, one tier below Ligue 1.

With these new teams, they were able to keep doing what they loved most. However, they found it hard to find a sense of community within their respective roles.  

“We noticed that there was something missing,” Harb said. “We went into many tournaments here and leagues where you just go, pay the registration fee and then [organizers] don't really listen to you.”

It was glaringly obvious that they were completely on their own.

Many of their friends were not as lucky as they were. Several had come to Montreal and, despite looking for ways to continue playing soccer, drew the short straw and eventually gave up.

“They were just [quitting],” Selman said. “We felt like it shouldn't happen, and we should give them what they want.”

This is how All Star Xperience (ASX) came to be.

Harb and Selman founded the company in late 2023 with the goal of fostering a community of soccer players and giving newcomers more opportunities to continue on the pitch. 

“The first couple of tournaments we did were short tournaments. So, one-day tournaments or two-day tournaments,” Selman said. “We were just doing them to put our name out there.”

Their first tournament had only eight teams, composed exclusively of friends of Harb and Selman. Over time, ASX grew. People they didn’t know began sending them messages asking about their tournaments. They also decided to give out cash prizes, not because it attracts more people, but as a way of giving back and showing appreciation to their participants.

“We really touch on the emotional side of the base where we love our players,” Harb said. “And it's not only just about playing soccer, it's about building a whole community.”

“We went into many tournaments here and leagues where you just go, pay the registration fee and then [organizers] don’t really listen to you.” — Jad Harb, co-founder of ASX

The Concordia Student Union (CSU) reached out to the inseparable duo to set up the CSU All-Star Cup for Concordia students, as part of Orientation Week for the Fall 2024 semester. It is their biggest tournament yet, spanning two days with 20 teams and roughly 250 students participating.

Many who took part appreciate having an accessible tournament on campus.

“It’s a positive experience,” participating student Faysal Dandashli said. “It’s something that hasn’t really been done before. It’s a great way to meet others, connect with people.”

ASX is also putting on the 10-week ASX Premier League at Montreal’s Lower Canada College starting in early October.

Both Harb and Selman are happy with their playing careers at the moment. Harb mentioned that receiving a semi-professional contract would be a nice milestone to achieve, but he remains content with his current position.

The only thing truly missing from their sporting careers is donning the Concordia Stingers maroon and gold in their final two years of study.

“We played at elementary, middle school, high school level with all the teams,” Harb said. “It’s nice to represent our university.”

On the business side, they hope to grow ASX and host tournaments across Canada, perhaps even worldwide eventually.

“Soccer is the worldwide language of sports,” Harb said. “It should be open for everyone.”

This article originally appeared in Volume 45, Issue 2, published September 17, 2024.