The Ministry of Youth and Sports is making preparations for taking part in a number of world tournaments of Teqball, a strange game in Egypt. The step came in coordination with Fédération Internationale de Teqball (FITEQ) as the game has gained wide-scale fame globally. Teqball is a ball sport that is played on a curved table, combining elements of football and table tennis. Back and forth, the players hit a football with any part of the body except arms and hands.
The game is represented at an international level by the International Federation of Teqball (FITEQ). A number of world-class footballers have been attracted by the game, and after being added to the programmes for the 2021 Asian Beach Games, the African Beach Games, the the sport is now aiming for Olympic inclusion.
In recent remarks, Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhi confirmed that Teqball game is one of the latest sports activities to be officially played in Egypt. An official federation for the game will be established before the end of 2021. Sobhi said that a committee will be formed to develop a plan for participating in teqball world championships.
The forthcoming committee will also discuss aspects of co-operation in this framework with the Olympic committees and Arab and African youth ministers to make the game more famous, giving Egypt the leading status in this sport. A few days ago, the minister of sports agreed with a delegation of the FITEQ to provide support for Egypt to make inroads into this sport through implementing a number of specialized training courses for Egyptian coaches, players and referees.
Sobhi said that coordination with the FITEQ is underway to host the international teqball tournaments, as soon as the Egyptian federation was announced. There are 152 national federations for Teqball in the world, of which 33 are within Africa. The minister pointed out that Egypt, with the support of the political leadership, has become a logistical hub for successfully organizing world sports championships despite the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, including the 2021 World Men’s Handball Championship in January, the World Shooting and Weapon Championships and the African Cycling Championships.
Captain Saeed El-Shishini, former head of the youth sector at the Arab Contractors Club, confirmed that teqball sport will become a promising game in the Arab and African countries within a few years, because it combines football fun, table tennis, and soccer skills. Teqball became the world’s fastest recognised sport in August 2018 when its highest governing body FITEQ was officially recognised by the Olympic Committee of Asia (OCA). In June 2019 it was officially recognised by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA). In November 2020, FITEQ was granted full membership of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).
Some facts about Teqball sports game
*Teqball was invented in 2012 in Hungary by three football enthusiasts: former professional player Gabor Borsanyi, Hungarian businessman Gyorgy Gattyan and computer scientist Viktor Hyszar
*Teqball can be played with balls used in football.
*Teqball can be played by two players (singles game) or by four players (doubles game).
*A teqball match consists of best-of-three sets. *Each set is played until a player/team reaches 12 points.
*Every player/team has two attempts to complete a successful service.
*It is forbidden to touch the ball with the same body part twice consecutively.
*It is not allowed to return the ball with the same body part twice consecutively.
*Every player/team is allowed to return the ball with a maximum of 3 touches by any body part, except for the hands and arms.
*In doubles, a team has a maximum of 3 touches, however, the teammates must pass the ball at least once to each other.
*While playing, neither the table nor the opponent can be touched.
• In case of an edgeball, the rally shall be repeated.
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