Egypt were crowned champions of the 2024 African Men’s Handball Championship after beating Algeria in the final 29-21 in Cairo on Sunday.
The win came on the heels of Egypt’s early exit in football from the Africa Cup of Nations being staged in Cote d’Ivoire. Egypt exited in the round of 16, losing to DR Congo on penalties.
After winning six consecutive handball matches, the Pharaohs became only the second team in history to win the tournament three times in a row, while sealing their ninth elite continental title.
Egypt made it to the final after beating Angola 37-25 in the semi-final.
Algeria returned to the final of Africa’s premier handball event after a 10-year wait with a 32-26 win over Cape Verde.
Egypt also qualified for this year’s Paris Olympics, joining world champions Denmark, hosts France, Pan American Games winner Argentina, and Japan, representing Asia, in the Summer Games which start 26 July.
In the bronze medal match, Tunisia beat Cape Verde 35-28.
Furthermore, the top five - Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Cape Verde and Guinea - made it to the 2025 Men’s World Championship to take place in Croatia, Denmark and Norway in 2025.
Egypt are now only one championship behind Tunisia, the most decorated team in history.
Tunisia, which sealed their 25th medal in 26 editions after winning the bronze against Cape Verde, have 10 titles, while Algeria are on third with seven titles and 20 medals in total. The three are the only teams to have ever won the trophy.
Egyptian handball has now qualified for the Olympic Games for the eighth time, with their best performance coming in Tokyo 2020 when they finished fourth. The Pharaohs made their debut in Barcelona 1992.
Second and third place winners Algeria and Tunisia are heading for Olympic qualification tournaments where they will aim to seal a spot in Paris.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi sent his congratulations to the players who he said did their best to keep the title in Cairo for the ninth time.
The final was attended by Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli, a former handball player, who handed the Pharaohs the cup and took photos with the players whom he praised for their performance throughout the tournament. He also promised to lend more support to team sports that, he added, are always successful at the international level.
Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhi greeted the players and staff, praising their “outstanding performance and their fighting spirit.
“We are very proud of you and of all the Egyptian fans that backed the team through its journey during the tournament. I hope that this time we can secure a medal in the Olympics instead of last time’s fourth place. I am sure you can do it and I am here to support you in all your needs. We will provide you with the training camps you need and we will always ask you to bring more joy to all Egyptians. Thank you all for what you achieved,” Sobhi said.
The tournament had 16 teams divided into four groups of four teams each, with the top two in each group progressing to the knockout phases. Cape Verde, hosts Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria progressed with three out of three wins.
DR Congo, Guinea, Morocco and Angola made it to the quarter-finals with two wins and one loss. The remaining eight teams headed to the President’s Cup which was won by Nigeria after beating Cameroon 33-25.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 1 February, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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