Photo: Egyptian Presidency
El-Sisi further instructed that youth and sports activities meet the highest standards by adopting the latest scientific methods to ensure the return on investment in human capital.
He emphasised that this initiative to promote sports and physical fitness would play a crucial role in enhancing development, sustaining the general health of Egyptians, and ensuring that Egyptian children and youth have a wholesome, healthy, and integrated upbringing. He hoped that Egyptians would reach a point where they would adopt physical fitness as part of their lifestyle.
According to the Egyptian presidency, El-Sisi further discussed several topics related to the youth and sports sector in Egypt with Sobhi, who reviewed the ministry's efforts and programmes for caring for youth and children and promoting sports.
Sobhi noted that between 2018 and 2025, 24 million children benefited from 532 development programmes, 70 million young men and women benefited from 1,150 youth initiatives, and 19 million young people and athletes benefited from 928 sports activities.
He further reviewed the integrated approach to developing youths and enhancing sports through youth and sports federations, sports clubs, youth cities and camps, and youth innovation and development centres.
Moreover, Sobhi outlined the ministry's efforts to develop youth centres to serve young people. These centres, he noted, now provide opportunities for practising many sports, support community empowerment, and raise awareness about health, cultural, economic, political, scientific, and digital issues. They also offer community and human development services.
Similarly, Sobhi highlighted the ministry's efforts to advance the youth and sports system in Egypt, in cooperation and in partnership with the private sector. He noted that the number of existing sports services companies in Egypt has reached 548.
According to Sobhi, the contribution of sports to Egypt’s GDP reached 1.34 percent. The return on investment in partnership with the private sector in the youth and sports field, he explained, reached EGP 34 billion between 2018 and 2025.
Sobhi also outlined the ministry's efforts to develop existing sports medicine centres and youth and sports facilities, explaining that, between 2018 and 2025, 1,028 youth centres were established as part of the Decent Life (Haya Karima) initiative.
He reviewed the progress in establishing youth development centres and youth cities, upgrading sports fields, and building clubs in various governorates.
He also highlighted developments in the national project for youth camps across different governorates; a project that aims to implement integrated programmes for the development of children and youth and facilitate sports activities to promote health and personal growth.
Furthermore, Sobhi reviewed the implementation of the National Youth and Sports Strategy 2025-2032, which complements existing efforts and aims to improve the country's performance in international indicators in this field.
According to the Egyptian presidency, the youth and sports minister also addressed the legal and institutional framework for developing the youth and sports system, including the development of the youth ministry's organisational structure and regulating its operations.
In addition, the meeting's agenda included discussing the efforts to position Egypt as a hub for hosting and organising continental and global sports events and championships. Sobhi also discussed the ministry's plans in training Egyptian teams and athletes, as well as discovering, developing, and nurturing talented athletes.
According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) August report, the number of Egyptians aged 18–29 reached 21.3 million in 2025, representing 19.9 percent of the country’s total population of 107.2 million.
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