Under the sponsorship of Al-Ahram Advertising Agency and Pyramisa Hotels, Hurghada will host the World 6Red and Team Snooker Championship from 2-10 August. The event, sanctioned by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF), is the third to be hosted by Egypt but the first in Hurghada. It will include men, women and Masters for team snooker, and men and women for 6Red. “This is the third time Egypt hosts the competition,” said Emad Farid, regional sales and marketing manager at Pyramisa. “The previous couple of times we chose Sharm El-Sheikh but this time we chose Hurghada to allow more countries to come and join the event.” Farid said the hotels are sponsoring the event by giving 90 rooms on a full package basis (all inclusive) for IBSF board members, media, referees and guests in addition to free transportation to and from the airport and a hall that will host the competition. He said the hotel's strategy is to sponsor all sports events to promote tourism and help improve Egypt's image abroad. “Next year we are targeting to host an international carom competition in Luxor and Aswan for a change and to give players a chance to see the various touristic attractions in Egypt.” Hisham Lotfi, manager of the Al-Ahram Advertising Agency, said that Al-Ahram Organisation, being one of the biggest media entities in the Middle East, is proud to sponsor such an event for the third consecutive time. “We have to play a role in promoting sports as well as Egypt. The event will witness the attendance of world stars and it is on the international calendar of the IBSF. I hope our national team will do their best and take one of the top places in the world.” Snooker Championship In the tournament, each country is allowed to send two teams consisting of two players in the men's, four teams of two players in the women's and two teams of two players in the Masters. For 6Red, each country is allowed to send two players in men and women in addition to players from the team event. Each region is also allowed to send the winner and runner-up of their continent 6Red championship in both men and women. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 1 August while the championship will start on 2 August with 6Red from four to five days. This will be followed by the team championships with the final on 10 August. The IBSF will also see three players qualify from the last four in the 6Red to the SangSom 6Red in Thailand. “We are expecting from 40 to 50 countries to attend the 10-day event,” Mohamed Al-Kammah, general secretary of the IBSF, said. “Some countries have already confirmed their participation such as Wales, Palestine, the United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, Bahrain, China and Russia,” said Al-Kammah, who is also president of the African Billiards Federation and deputy president of the Egyptian Billiards and Snooker Federation. “A number of world champions announced their participation like multiple time IBSF champion and former pro player Darren Morgan of Wales who has won the three editions played in Egypt.” Al-Kammah also said Egypt's bid to host the event saw fierce competition from some countries including Kurdistan from Asia and Poland from Europe but because he was able to win the IBSF secretary-general post in the elections with 46 votes out of 61, the bid, according to Al-Kammah, went to Egypt since everybody trusted him. “We decided to shift the event to Hurghada because there is no travel ban on the Red Sea pearl so we can attract more participants and countries,” Al-Kammah explained. He said that in Sharm El-Sheikh in 2014, 35 countries took part in the championship while the number of participants reached 45 in 2015 “and we are expecting more participation this year.” Hurghada is a beach resort town stretching some 40km along Egypt's Red Sea coast. It's renowned for scuba diving and has numerous dive shops and schools. There are many restaurants, bars and nightclubs while the old town, Al-Dahar, is home to traditional Egyptian coffee shops and souks.
