CAIRO - Tomorrow is January 25, a national holiday for all the country. On this day a year ago, a popular revolution erupted in Egypt, forcing former president Hosni Mubarak to step down in an astonishing, peaceful revolt. It cannot be denied that 2011 was an Earth-shaking and outstanding year for Egypt, full of misery, pride and conceit. But we have big hopes that 2012 will be a promising year for all segments, including sports. Sports are part of life in Egypt and of course they have been affected by what has been happening recently in the country. Sports are vital for the wellbeing of the people in this country, around 60 per cent of whom can be described as youths. Last year, the Egyptians did something great, when the U-23 Olympic team qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games for the first time since 1992, something which delighted us all.
Little has changed on the sport front Many sports experts, including coaches and some presidents of sports federations, agree that little has changed on the sports front since the revolution a year ago. But some experts consider the appointment of Emad el-Banan as head of Egypt's National Sports Council (NSC) and Engineer Khaled Abdel Aziz as head of Egypt's National Youth Council (NYC) to be two bits of goods news, as they are both open-minded and cultured and may do much for sports and youth, two important sectors. Amr Hussein, the President of the Egyptian Speedball Federation, says that nothing has changed for sports around the country, but he hopes that the appointments of el-Banan and Abdel Aziz might help develop and change the old system. "The Egyptian Olympic Committee should have full independence and its members should not include the heads of sports federations, in order to ensure the principle of reward and punishment," Hussein stresses. Hossam el-Badri, the ex-Al-Ahly coach who now coaches Enppi, says that the January 25 revolution was something very important in Egypt's history, although the sports sector has yet to feel the changes, as he told Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA). El-Badri stressed the importance of having rules, regulations and laws to govern sports in Egypt. "Sports really need a lot of attention and development," he said, expressing his hope that everyone contributes to Egypt regaining its leading role in the region. Taha Ismail, a soccer expert, agrees that nothing has changed on the sports front since the revolution. "One thing has changed in fact. Football fans are now behaving much worse at matches, because of the poor relationship between them and the police," he points out. Some of the Egyptian Premier League matches this season have been marred by violence and fans letting off fireworks, forcing the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) to order the country's giant clubs, Al-Ahly and Zamalek, to play their fixtures behind closed doors. However, Zamalek fans broke into the stadium during their recent match against Police Union, who stunningly beat the White Knights 2-1 behind closed doors. Ismail says that stability is sorely needed, as, at present, the technical coaches and players are in a state of chaos and lacking discipline. But what are the prospects this year for sports in the country in the wake of the 25 January revolution? The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has declared the January 25 an official holiday, when huge celebrations, including sporting events, will be held nationwide.
Egypt's Islamists all in favour of sports The first session of the new Egyptian Parliament, dominated by an Islamist majority, was held yesterday. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and the Salafist Al-Nour Party have captured the majority of votes in Egypt's first elections since the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak. Some say that sports will suffer under the Islamists. What about soccer, especially for women? Will they be allowed to play it or not? Others stress the importance of a comprehensive cleansing of the faloul (remnants of the former regime). They want the presidents of all sports institutions in the country to be changed, starting with the Egyptian Football Association; they say the purge should also include club board members with strong ties with the former regime figures and even the Egyptian Olympic Committee. A prominent Islamist figure denies these claims, stressing that Islam encourages sports, which are good for the health, as long as they respect the traditions of Islam. "We support sports in general and encourage them," MB spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan told Akhbar el-Youm Arabic-language daily newspaper. “Sports flourished in the age of Islam, so why shouldn't they under the Islamists? We are looking to encourage more sporting activities nationwide," added Ghozlan, explaining that playing sports are good for building up the body. "We hope that Egypt wins more sporting tournaments and grabs more trophies.” As for football players' fantastic wages and sky-high transfer fees, he commented that that's the name of the game all over the world. "Whether a player is sold for millions of dollars or not, it doesn't matter. Rules, legislation and global institutions govern sports, and no-one can interfere in this," said Ghozlan, pointing out that the FJP is seriously considering establishing a football club of its own. "Islam doesn't have any problem with soccer and other sports," he stressed.
Pharaohs optimistic about London Games Although 2011 has been a difficult year for the Egyptians, the fact that the U-23 Olympic team have qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games is something to really be proud about. The U-23 Olympic soccer team have made us all happy. After they succeeded in qualifying for the Olympic Games for the first time since 1992, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, and Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri sent a cable of greetings and congratulations to the Egyptian Olympic team. The Young Pharaohs qualified for the Olympics after defeating Senegal 2-0 in the U-23 African Cup of Nations (ACN) third place playoff in Marrakech. Morocco and Gabon have also qualified for the London Games. The Egyptian team also won the organising committee's Fair Play Award, while the same committee chose ‘Pharaonic' goalkeeper Ahmed el-Shenawi, defender Moaz el-Henawi and midfielder Hossam Hassan as three of the CAF's best XI players in the U-23 CAF Championship. Egypt's U-23 coach Hani Ramzi says that he is optimistic that the team can do something good for the country in London. In the Olympic Games was in Beijing in 2008, Egypt only won one medal, courtesy of judoka Hisham Mesbah, who grabbed a bronze.
An exciting Egyptian Premier League Egypt soccer experts agree that the 2011-2012 Egyptian Premier League is one of the most challenging competitions in recent years, as all 19 clubs participating this season are highly motivated. They, therefore, expect the competition to be ruthless in the coming weeks and months. The experts say that, in the first 15th weeks of the season, most of the clubs have played very well, with the small clubs undaunted by the giant ones. But, on the negative side, some of the matches have been marred by violence and fans letting off fireworks, forcing the EFA to order the country's giant clubs, Al-Ahly, Zamalek and Ismaili, to play their fixtures behind closed doors. But now the decision for playing matches behind closed doors has been cancelled. The first 15th weeks of the Premier League have witnessed the sacking of many coaches: the twins Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan of Ismaili; El-Mahalla's Salah el-Nahei after Zamalek crushed them 6-1; Smouha's Mimi Abdel-Razeq after they were held by El-Masry 1-1; and Military Production's Kamal Etman, when Haras el-Hodoud beat them 3-0. Enppi's coach Mokhtar Mokhtar has resigned, being replaced by Hossam el-Badri, while Hamza el-Jamal of Talefounat Beni Sueif has also resigned and Ashraf Kassem now leads the team. El-Masry coach Talaat Youssef has also been sacked, being replaced by the Hassan twins. As for the Egyptian coaches who have been doing well since the start of the season, they include Tareq Yehia of Misr Elmaqasah (MCSD); Haras el-Hodoud's Tareq el-Ashri; Helmi Toulon of Police Union; and El-Gouna's Anwar Salama.
Egypt starts 2013 ACN campaign The first national team will start their campaign for the 2013 African Cup of Nations (ACN) on February 29, facing the Central African team in the first leg of the qualification for the 2013 CAN; the second leg will be in June. Former United States coach Bob Bradley signed a contract at the end of September to work as the Egypt national team's technical coach until July 2014. The 53-year-old Bradley replaces long-time coach Hassan Shehata, who stepped down in June towards the end of a disappointing ACN qualifying campaign. Bradley says that he is delighted to have been chosen to lead the African champions, promising to do his best to help the Egyptians achieve their dream of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. "I am proud to be Egypt's new coach," Bradley said, stressing that Egyptians are fond of soccer and that he will therefore do his best to please them. "After three glorious ACN victories, I know I'll have a tough job. It is a challenge and exciting too,” Bradley was quoted as saying.
Farida: The Butterfly of the Nile Farida Hisham Othman stunned the world at the Arab Games, held in Qatar last month, grabbing seven gold medals, qualifying for the London Olympics and setting a new world record in the 50m butterfly. Egypt came first in the 2011 Arab Games Egyptian, landing an astonishing 233 medals: 90 gold, 76 silver and 67 bronze. Farida, 17 years, did Egypt proud in setting a new world record in the 3rd World Junior Swimming Championships, held in Peru last September. She made history and set a world record in grabbing the gold medal in the 50m butterfly with a time of 26.69 seconds, helping Egypt to 11th place in the medal charts of the tournament, the highest place of any African or Arab country for a long time. Farida, the first Egyptian swimmer to rewrite the swimming world record books for more than 20 years, smashing the old record set by a South African swimmer, who swam the 50m butterfly in 26.70 seconds. The World Junior Swimming Championships, held every two years, are open to girls aged 15-17 and boys aged 16-18. The 2011 tournament was the third edition; the two previous championships were held in Brazil and Mexico. The 3rd World Junior Swimming Championships witnessed the participation of 528 swimmers (246 women and 282 men), representing 58 nations. The tournament came up with 42 new records, while 19 countries won medals.
Egypt's pentathletes on tenterhooks Egypt's Modern Pentathlon Team are hoping to do well and snatch medals at this year's London Olympic Games. The Egyptian have booked two seats for the 2012 Olympics Games in London, after winning both the women and men's African Modern Pentathlon qualifying tournament, which wound up in Alexandria last July. Athletes Aya Medany and Yasser Hafni bagged the two Olympic places for Egypt on behalf of the African continent. Aya grabbed gold and the first place for women with 5,072 points, while Hafni snatched the gold and first place for men with 5,784 points.
