After the June 30 Revolution, Egyptian sports witnessed a great development and bid farewell to the era of athletic slackness and failure.
Local athletes have reached international levels by showing Egypt’s true image, especially with this country proving capable of hosting largest and important international tournaments.
Over the past 9 years, the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports set a number of goals for itself to achieve on the road to advancing the national sports system.
These goals came within the framework of directives by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
They included the improvement of sports infrastructure; the development of youth centres; investing in human capital, and encouraging teamwork.
The ministry has succeeded in fulfilling many of these goals since June 30 Revolution.
It constructed sports cities, upgraded sports centres, especially in the Egyptian countryside and offered special care to sports talents.
This interest at the highest political level turned Egypt into a main destination for major international sports events and competitions.
Egypt has become ready to host all sports events.
The Sports Ministry managed to make Egypt an inspiring venue for 280 continental and international sports events in the past few years, just when the world was reeling under the effects of the pandemics and wars.
This success boils down to a number of factors, most importantly unrelenting support by President Sisi.
The president has given local youth the largest share of support and care since coming to power in mid-2014.
Football team
In 2018, the national football team qualified for the World Cup in Russia, after 30 years of absence.
They also qualified in 2019 for the final match in the African Cup of Nations in Gabon, after an absence that lasted for 3 consecutive tournaments.
In 2022, Egypt also reached the final match against Senegal.
This month, Egypt officially secured a record 26th appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations finals.
The tournament will be held in the Ivory Coast next year.
Olympic Games City
The Olympic Games City is an important part of the New Administrative Capital. It was constructed with the aim of supporting the sports field in Egypt, and hosting international tournaments and important events.
Minister of Youth and Sports, Ashraf Sobhi, told the Egyptian Mail in a previous interview that the construction of the Egyptian International Olympic Games City is almost complete.
Observers believe the city will move Egyptian sports to a new stage and put it on equal footing with countries that enjoy an avant-garde sports infrastructure.
Tokyo Olympics 2020
Egypt participated in the Tokyo Olympics with the largest delegation in its history. The delegation consisted of 134 players who participated in 23 games and won six medals.
Sports tournaments hosted by Egypt in 2018
* The Arab and African Championship for BMX Bikes: Track of the Armed Forces in Future City
* The Arab and African Championships for Duathlon (running – cycling): Luxor
* The 10th edition of the African Mountain Bike Championship: Wadi Degla Reserve
* The Arab and African Triathlon Championship: Sharm El-Sheikh
* The 14th African Championships for Rhythmic and Trampoline Gymnastics: Cairo Stadium
* The 16th World Junior Championships in Fin Swimming: Sharm El-Sheikh
Sports tournaments hosted by Egypt in 2019
* CAF Africa U-23 Cup of Nations
* CAF Africa Cup of Nations
* African Women’s Volleyball Championship
* World Modern Pentathlon Cup: Fifth Settlement
Sports tournaments hosted by Egypt in 2020-2021
* World Junior Pentathlon Championship for U-17-18-21: Alexandria
* African Karate Championship: Cairo Stadium
* Handball World Cup – January 2021
* Modern Pentathlon World Cup – June 2021
* Egypt Open Squash Championship – September 2021
Investments in youth and sports facilities
* Development of 4,050 legal and five-a-side stadiums in sports centres and clubs
* Construction and development of eight youth cities
* Construction and development of 30 civil education centres, youth forums and scout camps
* Establishment of 253 youth centres
* Construction of three indoor halls for the 2021 IHF World Men’s Handball Championship
* Development of 11 sports clubs and four sports stadiums at cost of 13.2 billion Egyptian pounds
Youth and sports facilities
The Sports City in the New Administrative Capital contains indoor halls, swimming pool complexes, a gymnastics building, a hall for people with disabilities and a tennis courts complex.
The following projects were also implemented:
Hassan Mustafa Sports Hall: 6th of October City
Cairo Stadium Indoor Hall
Civil Education Centres
Olympic Centre: Maadi.
Sports and Youth City: Port Said
Sports and Youth City: Asmarat (at a cost of 230 million pounds)
