That Egyptian football crazy would be an understatement. The rhythmic musical phrases played on a million car horns accompany the outpouring of joy when the national side wins. Handball comes a close second as Egypt defeated Algeria at the African Men’s Handball Championship Saturday.
Such triumphs prompt discussion about sports marketing for individual and team sports.
Between 2014 and 2023, some LE22 billion has been spent on developing sports infrastructure for youth centres nationwide, from 2014 to 2023, plus the building of five-a-side stadia, youth and sports cities – notably the Egypt International City for the Olympic Games – the six venues for the African Nations Championship in 2019, and the construction of 14 indoor halls.
Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhi said the government has worked hard to develop youth centres in the governorates, and the situation before 2014 was difficult. Meanwhile, spending over two years to support individual games totalled LE1.1 billion.
But developing sports is not just a question of spanking new stadia and world-class facilities. Much work has been done in the way of talent scouting, nurturing sports potential for the future. The National Project for Talent and the Olympic Champion speaks for itself.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports has invested considerably in sports marketing, resulting in the emergence several companies dedicated to this end to support athletes in all sporting federations in the way of preparation camps, personal expenses, equipment and sports medicine.
The minister spoke of the unprecedented support by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to the sports system as a whole, especially champions who raise the Egyptian flag in various international forums.
Egypt has a distinguished position based on sound planning and its scientific application, as evidenced by the success of the Egyptian handball.
