The headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) in 6 October City hosted several meetings and activities this week.
Hani Abu Rida, president of the EFA, and his board members received delegations from counterpart associations Libya and Kuwait and Palestine. Talks were held on maintaining mutual cooperation between the EFA and Arab nations on technical and administrative matters.
The EFA also concluded the first part of a partnership protocol between the EFA and the French Football Federation (FFF) on female football coaches. French Ambassador Eric Chevallier signed the protocol with Abu Rida after which Chevallier joined female players and coaches in a friendly match.
The first part of the partnership project was held in Cairo under the supervision of Adrian Guillot, sports and culture officer at the French Embassy. The programme was on developing talent 16 and older, meeting players’ needs, developing gaming intelligence, and understanding the game where youth and adult coaches must have full knowledge of the game and be able to convey this to their players.
In particular, coaches are to help players identify the areas of the pitch so as to adopt the appropriate behaviour. The areas (possession, attack, balance) depend on the position of the ball as well as the coach’s tactical choices (the position of the defensive line).
The project also focused on the collective and individual behaviours and influence within the scope of youth and adult talent development where coaches should give their players clear markers in the form of collective and individual behaviours to adopt, depending on the situations that they may face during a match.
The programme also focused on primary and secondary principal play for players between 15 and 18 years old to work on the priority principles: attacking and defense as well as developing the player’s gaming intelligence.
The second part of the programme is to be held in Paris at the National Football Centre in Clairefontaine from 4 to 10 May where an Egyptian delegation will travel to France with 34 members, including players, staff members (male and female), a medical representative and a translator. In Paris, training sessions will be coordinated with the Egyptian staff and led by the FFF. Also, a friendly match is to be confirmed based on the players’ age groups.
The EFA also received a delegation of FIFA officials including the famed coach Arsène Wenger, the former Arsenal manager, now FIFA’s chief of Global Football Development. The project is part of FIFA’s broader effort to help national football federations maximise their resources and improve coaching and player development.
Wenger said Egypt has a “fertile environment for football” as he launched a FIFA-backed talent development project in Cairo which aims to nurture young talent and enhance Egypt’s footballing capabilities.
“I am very happy to be in Egypt. The environment here is highly suitable for football competition,” Wenger told a press conference at the EFA.
“We are here with a FIFA team to oversee the development project, and the facilities and overall setting provide great potential for progress,” he added.
“To develop a great footballer, you need a great coach. That’s why we are here, to improve the quality of coaching. Egypt has excellent coaches but we aim to further their development because coaching is a fundamental part of success,” the Frenchman said.
“The strongest clubs in the world are in Europe but we want to see world-class clubs in every part of the world. That is part of our mission,” he added.
“Egypt has a deep passion for football, talented young players, and excellent potential. We believe we can achieve great work together,” Wenger said.
The visit follows a workshop held by FIFA officials for EFA academy staff on identifying and nurturing talent. The initiative aims to provide long-term support for player development, coaching education and national team improvement.
Since his arrival at the helm of the EFA in November, Abo Rida, who is also a FIFA council member, has aimed for close cooperation with the world’s governing body to develop football in the country.
The EFA has described the FIFA project as a key step in its strategy to elevate Egyptian football and strengthen cooperation with global football authorities.
On Monday, the EFA concluded a two-day refereeing workshop held by Massimo Bosacca, technical director of FIFA referees, and lecturer Oscar Ruiz who led referees on a practice drill. The training session also included a friendly game of two teams of young players with 14 refereeing teams attending. Each of the 14 teams participated in the game for seven minutes as training under the supervision of Ruiz, who stopped the game to correct mistakes, give instructions to the referees and discuss their decisions according to lectures and videos. He focused on the importance of a referee’s personality and performance in the game. He also confirmed that refereeing decisions should be made by themselves without having to wait for VAR assistance.
On the other hand, the four Egyptian clubs who have qualified for the knock-out stage of the quarter-finals are awaiting the African Champions League and Confederations Cup draw which is to be conducted in the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday 20 February. The matches re-start in March.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 13 February, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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