It’s an Egyptian sports mystery.
In the last article, we talked about the Egyptian national handball team and saw the rise of Egyptian handball. We have seen how the Egyptian national team won eight African titles, like a dead man rising from his grave. Not only that, but the Egyptian national of handball recently won the ninth African title.
The Egyptian national handball team is, beyond doubt, the most successful in the history of team sports in Egypt, even at the level of participation in world championships. I do not believe there is a national team for team sports in Egypt that has achieved half of what the Egyptian national handball team has.
But our talk now revolves around a mystery. The mystery is the Egyptian sports audience, or rather football audience, because, in Egypt, they are almost only interested in football. Even if you practice another sport, you most likely know what happens in it.
The Egyptian people raise my suspicions, even though I am also Egyptian. I cannot understand why Egyptians love football. Yes, there was a wonderful generation called the Golden Generation of Egyptian football when the Egyptian football team won three African titles in three consecutive tournaments from 2006 to 2010, the seventh and last title for them. They even failed in 2019 when the tournament was in Egypt. Our national team was eliminated by South Africa and exited from the tournament. Algeria won it in the end.
This year, the African Nations Handball Championship was held in Egypt, and Egypt won it easily as if it was a friendly tournament without effort. On the other hand, the Egyptian national football team, which has the greatest popularity and greatest support in Egypt, could not withstand the Congolese team. The stark reality is that Egyptian football is in decline. The Egyptian Football Association, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and other systems cause football’s decline. In Egypt, they are managed with bribes, nepotism, and courtesies. Moreover, the majority of popular clubs in Egypt have disappeared. In the past, there were Al-Tersana, Ghazl El-Mahalla, and Ismaily Clubs. No popular and promising clubs are left today except Al-Ahly and Zamalek.
Why does Egyptian football receive heavy financial support even though most Egyptian league players are unlikely to master the basics of football? Do you think, like me, that Egyptian sports fans are on the wrong side by not supporting other sports?
Handball and other sports are subjected to severe injustice by the Egyptian people, not to mention the officials. I hope Egypt will be like Denmark in handball or France someday–a better country at all levels, including sports.
We want more gendo