In the second Police Championship for futsal, or five-a-side football, the Egyptian Police Sports Federation won first place, writes Ghada Abd El-Kader Cairo Electricity took the silver and Arab Contractors the bronze. Mit Oqba came in fourth. In the final, the Police beat Cairo Electricity 2-0. Arab Contractors beat Mit Oqba 2-1 for third and fourth place. To mark Police Day on 25 January, the nine-day futsal championship starting 8 January was held under the auspices of Minister of Interior Habib El-Adli. Held at the Egyptian Police Sports Federation in Al-Darrasa, the tournament comprised the Egyptian Police Sports Federation, Interior Club, Giza Security, Sokar Al-Hawamdia, Shooting Club, the Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO), Arab Contractors, Central Security Club, Bank Misr, Mit Oqba, Cairo Electricity Production Company, Falcon Group, Al-Shorouq City and Military Production. The winning team took LE20,000 in prize money, the second pocketed LE15,000 and the third LE10,000. Mohamed El-Sayed from the Police was selected best goalkeeper, Atef Abdel-Azim the top striker, and Ahmed Abdel-Rasul from Mit Oqba was named best player. Team Falcon won the fair play award. El-Sayed, a goalkeeper for nine years, and on the Egyptian national team, called the win "a great honour." Ahmed Mohamed, from Mit Oqba and an engineering technician by profession, added, "After playing football I gained a lot of friends and met new people." And from Abdel-Azim: "It was our first time to participate in the championship. Winning fourth place is not bad for the first time." Last year, Mit Oqba won the league title and are in second place this season. The Egyptian Police Sports Federation has been league champion six straight years. "Egypt is the African champion in futsal," head of the technical committee Ibrahim Youssef said. "It has consistently participated in world futsal championships. "All the teams which participated in this championship consist of international players. This year, the competition was very strong. It was only for professionals; there was no place for beginners. "The tournament raised the motto, 'police and society -- one structure for our country'."
