IT ISN'T only the Egyptian football team and the fans who are currently making an appearance in Russia. The government is doing so as well. For the first time, Egypt has become the regional supporter of the FIFA World Cup Russia. The nation's Experience and Invest Company signed a deal with FIFA days before the kickoff with the aim of promoting the country as a global tourism and investment destination. The company, which is affiliated with the Egyptian government, signed a contract with FIFA, football's world governing body, to become an official regional supporter of the World Cup to promote the country as a global investment destination, and to attract more tourists from around the world to visit the country. The contract is the first to be signed in Africa among other sponsorship contracts that are expected to be signed during the coming period. The contract was signed in Moscow by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr in addition to Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat. The contract was also signed by the Egyptian Football Association's main sponsor, Presentation Sports Company, which was represented by its president Mohamed Kamel. In attendance was head the EFA Hani Abu Rida, deputies of the FIFA chief and the FIFA director of marketing, as well as Ahmed Megahed, Karam Kordi and Executive Director Tharwat Sewelam. After the signing, participants were shown the start of the celebrations in Cairo. The lights of the Pyramids of Giza were displayed with the World Cup logo, along with the slogan of the campaign “Egypt. Experience. Invest”. Infantino revealed his love affair with Egypt, saying it was one of the best places he has ever visited. He also expressed his happiness that the first supporter of Africa for the World Cup is Egypt. “Being an official regional supporter of the 2018 FIFA World Cup gives us an outreach in Africa to highlight and communicate the premium positioning and enormous investment diversity and potential Egypt has to offer,” Nasr said on the signing. Nasr said that in addition to having increased visibility through the world's most watched sporting event, Egypt Experience and Invest will engage globally through social media outlets and directly with football fans to showcase the wide spectrum of investment opportunities in the country. Al-Mashat also affirmed that Experience and Invest is willing to use the opportunity of Egypt's qualification to the World Cup to showcase in a modern way the rich and rewarding diversity of tourism experiences that Egypt offers. “FIFA is delighted to sign with Experience and Invest as an official regional supporter of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. Like FIFA, whose aim is to enhance the appeal of football, Experience and Invest's main objective is to highlight the beauty of Egypt as a country and promote its economical investment possibilities,” Al-Mashat said. “We are happy to have another strong stakeholder on board and we cannot wait for the biggest sport show on earth to begin,” FIFA Marketing Sales and Strategy Director Iain Downie said before the World Cup began. Abu Rida said he was proud to see Egypt as one of the World Cup's main sponsors. “As an Egyptian, president of the Egyptian Football Association and member of the FIFA Council, I feel so proud. Egyptian football is showing great progress and we are trying to open huge fields of investment.” Abu Rida added that the deal will definitely bring Egypt tremendous revenues through promoting both investment and tourism, in addition to providing more job opportunities. “This deal is really historic,” Abu Rida said. Kamel said he was thrilled with the historic partnership between FIFA and Presentation. “This is a day we should all be proud of, for Egypt to become a regional supporter of the World Cup. Presentation has always been working on breaking barriers and on achieving the impossible. The future will see us delivering more surprises to delight the Egyptian people. Our company has unlimited ambitions,” Kamel said.
