Hi All, I have noticed that one of the top teams in Panama is called Club Deportivo Árabe Unido. Do you have any idea why is the team called (Arabe)? Is that related anyway to Arabs? What is the exact English translation of the club name? Thanks. VidER
Arabe Unido translates to United Arab in English, and it's located in the English-speaking Caribbean port town of Colon. They, along with Tauro in Panama City, are the most dominant clubs in Panama, and send a bulk of the players to the national team. Here's their team page...
Fwiw, in Chile there is a team called "Palestino" which was in fact founded by the big Palestinian community present in the country. I think Chile has the biggest Palestinian community outside Palestine in the world? Palestino even made it to the "Clausura" finals last year (eventually losing to Colo Colo) and some of the players have gone onto onto play for the Palestine NT (Roberto Bishara comes to mind and a few others whose names I can't remember right now).
Thanks for the interesting details MetroChile. I never knew that. Anyone from Panama to explain the name of (Club Deportivo Árabe Unido)? What does (Deportivo) mean anyway? VidER
Sorry I'm late. Deportivo Arabe Unido is a club located in Colon, Panama. The club originated in Panama City, but always represented Colon (majority players being from colon), so they moved headquarters to Colon around 1995-1996. The team name (arabe unido) is due to being owned by an arab family (i think from lebanon), who happen to own most of the companies located inside the Colon Free Zone.
It's a fairly common occurrence in Central America. El Salvador once had a team called "Árabe Marte," and I think the Palestinian community in ES were responsible for the merging of their team with Atlético Marte.
Hey...The team is named after the wealthy Arab (Lebanese mostly) families that own much of Colon where the biggest free zone other than China in the world is located, they also own the club. Colon is where any product you can think of is housed, as long as you are not Panamanian, you can go into the zone and buy anything from cars, to appliances, clothing, parts, raw materials etc...very cheap. At one time this area was controlled by the Americans and there was a base there along with the original infamous school of the americas. That is why it may be misunderstood as being english speaking. However, they do speak spanish (and the arabs speak spanish and arabic) there, you will not find many there who speak English.
Almost the entire city (and many other small pueblos in the province) of Colon speaks English, not American, but West Indian/British English, along with Limon Costa Rica, Bluefields Nicaragua, the Bay Islands Honduras, Livingston Guatemala, and the nation of Belize. Basically the entire Atlantic Coast of Central America, much of which was part of the British Empire, and most of which is inhabited by people of Jamaican decent. Several CA governments (Panama's included) adopted a Spanish-only policy in the school system to speed up their integration process. I'm sorry you're misinformed.
Fwiw, it is fairly common for immigrant communities/groups to form soccer/sports teams in Latin American countries.
IN colon they speak BOTH spanish and english, due to a large # of residents being descendants of west indians/caribbeans who came over when the canal was being built.
I am from Panama but really the name Arabe Unido have not too much to do with being and ARAB...Panamanian culture have so many influences that there are many names that people pick up for one reason or another. For instance I have nephews name Abdul...Rommel...Kevins..I had schoolmates name Diomedes, Leandro, Aristoteles ets is a Panamanian thing...
We have plenty of Middle eastern to the point that we enjoy so many Middle Eastern bakery's and Coffee shops at one point...I have come to realize that now that I live in Houston..
You got it right...Most of the Caribbean coast is populated by the descendants of British slaves that work in the plantation but in Panama we have a extra influx of West Indies descendants...