Everton’s Amadou Onana gives insight into his daily routine during Ramadan, including an early start, and watching his Belgium teammates eat lunch without him

Everton‘s Amadou Onana has revealed how his daily routine changes during Ramadan, in a social media video made while on international duty with Belgium.

The holy month of Ramadan, a period of fasting and abstaining from things considered to be impure for the mind and body, began on Sunday March 11, and is set to end on Wednesday. 

Having no food or drink between the hours of sunrise and sunset impacts on all Muslim people, but Everton midfielder Onana shared a ‘day in the life’ video of his experience whilst with the Belgium team during the international break. 

Onana woke up at 4:23am to eat his pre-dawn meal of suhur, explaining: ‘As you can see my alarm is pretty early.

‘I’m struggling to get out of bed but it’s time to get out of bed and get some food. Shout out to the chef for waking up and making the food, by the way.’

Amadou Onana explained his Ramadan routine whilst on international duty with Belgium

He got up early to eat before dawn, and pray, before returning to bed ahead of training

He shared footage of his gym session during the Belgium international break on social media

He prayed before returning to bed, waking up later in the morning to make an 11am training session, with a gym session too, which was jokingly interrupted by Jeremy Doku.

Onana joined his Belgium teammates at the lunch table ‘just for vibes’, and filmed himself jokingly messing around with a fork and no plate.

He added: ‘As you can see, everyone is enjoying the food.

‘I’m here, struggling on my own and people are eating in front of me… Nah, I’m joking, I’m joking. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. It’s all love.’

He admitted he was ‘struggling’, and took a nap to pass some of his down time, before a photoshoot with Belgium’s sponsors. 

He joked about having to watch his national teammates eating lunch whilst he was fasting

Onana waved around a fork after he joined his teammates at the lunch table ‘just for vibes’ 

He read from the Quran while he was ‘feeling it’ from hunger until the evening Iftar meal

When he was ‘feeling it’ due to hunger, he read from the Quran until Iftar, the fast-breaking evening meal for Muslims in Ramadan, when he says he can ‘finally eat’, before relaxing in the evening with games alongside his Belgium teammates. 

Several Premier League games have briefly stopped to allow Muslim players to take on fluids after sunset, including Everton’s game against Newcastle. 

He is one of three Muslim players at Everton, alongwith with Idrissa Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure. 

On the brief stoppage for fluids, Onana told the Everton website: ‘It’s a nice feeling because it’s showing that people respect you and your faith and belief. A thanks to the Premier League for that.’ 

As for being a role model to other people, particularly Muslims, during this time, Onana added: ‘I feel like faith gives you a different type of strength – mental strength, physical strength. 

‘I also think there are jobs that are way harder than being a professional football player and those people are observing Ramadan as well so, for me, I just feel blessed. 

‘As I say, nothing much has changed for me – I don’t feel weaker, in fact, the opposite I feel stronger. It’s just a normal thing for me.’ 

Once his fast was over, he joined in with games alongside his Belgium teammates before bed

Onana thanked the Premier League for halting their games so they could break their fast 

He is one of three Muslim players at Everton along with Idrissa Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure

Other clubs have also held events to reach out to their Muslim staff and supporters, as well as the wider community. 

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag joined an Iftar night held for the club’s Muslim players and staff members. 

Liverpool hosted their first Iftar event at Anfield, with 2,800 people from diverse communities across the area coming together to break their fast inside the stadium. 

Last year, Chelsea became the first Premier League club to hold an Iftar event.