ON A hot Saturday afternoon, Mahrous Mahmoud is busy as can be. The professional football player, however, is working up a sweat in a different way these days — as a street vendor.

At this time of the year, Mahmoud would be on the field playing as a defender for Beni Suef, a club in Egypt’s second division. But like millions in the Arab world’s most populous country, he has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

These days, he heads to work in a crowded market in an Upper Egypt town. Shoulder-to-shoulder, shoppers jostle around stalls as he prepares a pancake-like pastry. Prior to the pandemic, Mahmoud made about $200 (£163) a month playing for his club. That went a long way towards feeding his family of three but he also did part-time jobs to supplement it.