By Inas Mazhar Finally things seem to be going in the right direction in our sports. The word "incentives" is starting to be used. So, too, the word "punishment". Egypt's five Olympic champions have already collected the prize money they were promised before the beginning of the Games. In the past, there have been promises of prize money but never fulfilled. We had few Olympic champions but plenty of African and Arab champions. Most received peanuts as prize money and collected their checks years after their achievement, and only after begging for the money via memos or by complaining to the media. Some retired without getting anything while others lost interest in becoming champions seeing that there was nothing in the way of payment. Their skills deteriorated. They lost, and so did Egyptian sports. Youth Minister Anas El-Fiqi has apparently made a difference. Though he has been in office for only a few months, his accomplishments have been significant. He had vowed to give everyone what he deserves -- and he has done so. Following the end of the Olympic Games and after celebrating with the winners, the 44-year-old minister took another road, dissolving seven sports federations which failed, not only in the Olympics but in the past four years -- swimming, athletics, judo, badminton, field hockey, archery and volleyball. The decision cooled down an angry public which has seen millions of pounds wasted on losers. The federations spent over LE7 million in preparation for the Olympic Games. Some of them didn't even qualify like football which spent nearly LE1.5 million, volleyball, almost LE2 million and basketball close to LE1 million. El-Fiqi was kind enough to give a second chance to some federations like handball which has a strong history. Weightlifting, rowing and shooting will also be given a second lease on life. Other decisions by El-Fiqi included an investigation with international equestrian Saleh Andre Sakakini who failed to win a medal in four consecutive Olympics. The German-based Sakakini was accused by the media and officials of receiving special treatment from the National Olympic Committee who insisted on the player's participation despite his failure in past Games and despite millions of pounds being spent on his horses, training and transportation from his German-based home, plus the international competitions he has been representing Egypt in. Sakakini is now asked to return his horse, worth $60,000, which belongs to the federation. Another investigation awaits wrestler Mohamed Abdel-Fattah who was the other wrestling favourite to win an Olympic medal in the Graeco-Roman alongside Karam Gaber. But while Gaber won the gold, Abdel-Fattah was disqualified from the competition for insulting a referee, then after losing to a Greek opponent, kicking the Athens 2004 ad boards in protest. The ministry is now demanding that Abdel-Fattah repay the federation every penny which was spent on him, including training in Bulgaria and Russia. That's not all. According to the prime minister, a special committee for Beijing 2008 and the Games of 2012 will be set up soon to select the most promising athletes for these two Games. It looks like Egyptian sports is in the thralls of a mini-revolution -- and it's about time.
