Losing to Senegal in the World Cup African qualifiers in March this year meant that Egypt lost out on an appearance in Qatar 2022 which would have been their fourth World Cup.
Egypt took part in the world’s most prestigious single sports event three times: Uruguay 1934 (the first Arab and African country to make it to the World Cup), Italy 1990 and Russia 2018. Qatar was beckoning but wayward penalty kicks after extra time did them in.
Egyptian sorrow and frustration grew even more when just two days before the Qatar World Cup, the Pharaohs played brilliantly against Belgium in a friendly, beating the World Cup qualifiers and No 2 in the world 2-1 in Kuwait.
“Beating Belgium, who is playing in the World Cup, brought us sad memories despite the win because it reminded us of the loss to Senegal and how we lost the chance to join the world’s top teams. But we will still follow the World Cup from afar because we love this beautiful game,” Ziad Ihab, an Egyptian fan, said.
Had Egypt qualified, they would have been placed in Group A along with hosts Qatar, Ecuador and Holland (they would have taken Senegal’s place). It is a rather soft group in which Egypt would have fancied their chances of reaching the round of 16 for the first time.
While some Egyptian fans have flown to the Gulf country to enjoy watching the games from the stands, supporters here at home will be following the event on television. beIN Sports, the FIFA right holders and broadcasters in the Middle East and North Africa region, is broadcasting the entire competition for subscribers, allowing them to watch all 64 games live as well as other programmes related to the World Cup on its MAX channels.
Non-subscribers, though, have a chance to watch 22 matches on the Open Channel. On 19 November, beIN MEDIA GROUP (beIN) announced that it would broadcast those matches on its free-to-air beIN SPORTS channel in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The free-to-air coverage kicked off with the opening match on 20 November at the Al-Bayt Stadium. Qatar lost to Ecuador 2-0.
The announcement means millions of fans across the 24-country MENA region can celebrate and experience the World Cup, held for the first time in the Middle East. beIN Sports is the official broadcaster and exclusive broadcast rights holder of the Qatar World Cup, playing a central role in showcasing the historic tournament around the world.
“This is a celebration of a World Cup in and for the Arab world,” Mohamed Al-Subaie, CEO of beIN-MENA, said. “We are thrilled to be able to offer key matches free-to-air to the region’s passionate football fans. When we first became Official Broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, our mission was to pursue every opportunity to open up access to the tournament to the multitude of fans in this region. We remain committed to making our content widely available and we know how significant and unifying this tournament is for us all.”
Furthermore, the majority of sports clubs, youth centres, hotels, coffee shops, shopping centres and malls have installed giant screens for Egyptians to watch the games wherever they are.
According to student Mohamed Mokhles, following the World Cup while Egypt is not participating is more entertaining because there is no stress. “Of course, I am sad Egypt is not playing but if they were it would be stressful. Now, my friends and I have arranged to watch the games together to enjoy the matches. Our group supports South American teams like Argentina and Brazil and also Portugal because of Cristiano Ronaldo,” Saleh said.
There is an official participation from Egypt in Qatar; FIFA officials. There are three Egyptians serving in the Competitions Department including Khaled Nassar, Ismail Wali and Emad Shenouda. Nassar was designated as FIFA Match Director for the England versus Iran game in which the Three Lions outclassed their opponents 6-2.
Five men and women are also serving as officers in the media department, including Mohamed Thabet, Mustafa Tantawi, Noha Nassif, Ahmed Sabri, and Yara Abdullah. Only one referee is representing Egypt: Mahmoud Abul-Regal is an assistant referee who joins 10 other Arab referees in the World Cup.
There is also a huge delegation of Egyptian journalists in Qatar, including reporters, photographers, broadcasters, and web reporters.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 November, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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