Egypt's Mohamed Mamdouh (L) attempts to score against Slovenia's goalkeeper Gorazd Skof during their World Men's Handball Championship match at Palau Sant Jordi arena in Barcelona January 21, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)
The Egyptian Handball Federation (EHF) has confirmed the Pharaohs will play at the World Handball Championship in Qatar.
"Egypt will play at the World Championship taking place in Qatar," Dr Khaled Hamouda, head of the federation, told Ahram Sport following a meeting with Sports Minister Khaled Abdel-Aziz.
There has been speculation about Egypt's possible withdrawal from the tournament for political reasons.
"We don't mix politics with sport and this is final. Our withdrawal would cost the team penalties, especially after the boycott by Bahrain and the Emirates caused anger at the International Handball Federation (IHF)," Hamouda stressed.
Diplomatic relations between Gulf countries, Egypt and other Arab nations are not in their best condition following Qatar's support for Islamist groups across the region.
Voices in the Egyptian media, which is heavily critical of Qatar, have demanded the team join the boycott. The 24-nation tournament is scheduled to start in Doha on 15 January 2015.
The federation said in a statement that its ruling council would meet on 21 November to discuss the withdrawals.
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