Following Egypts recent World Cup qualification, KingFut Co-Founder Moustafa El Chiati revisits the years of agony Egyptian football has faced and questions - has progress really been made? Will this World Cup be a different story for the Pharaohs?
Egypt is a country of over 100 million people, obsessed with football and rich in talent, yet only four World Cup participations in ninety years is nothing short of astonishing. That's not bad luck. That's what happens when a game is suffocated by its own system.
In Egypt, football is not just a game. It's oxygen. It's the rhythm that connects a fisherman in Port Said, a taxi driver in Minya, and a banker in Zamalek. It is no secret to anyone who knows Egypt that football is a religion. When the national team plays, the country unites. Ahly and Zamalek rivalry subsides and Egypt reigns. Cairo's traffic softens, cafes overflow, and the pulse of the nation beats in one tempo. Football is how Egyptians dream together - actually it's how the Egyptians escape together!