Football in Egypt is undoubtedly the most popular sport, which enjoys a huge fan following.
Football in Egypt is greatly promoted by the Egyptian Football Association, which has been instrumental in promoting the game. The national football team of Egypt is popularly known as “The Pharaohs” and the Egyptian football team was the first African team to participate in World Cup in the year 1934. After this, it has qualified for the Football World Cup only once in the year 1990.
Football in Egypt dates back to the ancient periods, which is clearly depicted in the wall paintings found on the museums and
Egyptian pyramids of the past. Even in the olden days, ball games were very popular with the Egyptians as seen in most of the paintings. In the present times, the game of football has become a national craze with Egyptians.
The Egyptian Premier League for the 2006 / 2007 season has 16 teams. The two most popular football clubs of Egypt include Zamalek and Ahly. Other popular clubs are Itihad, al-Mokawlooan al-Arab, Masri and Isma’ili among others. Some of the popular Egyptian footballers include Ahmed Fathi, Ahmed Hassan, Beshir El Tabei, Hossam Ghaly, Ahmed ‘Mido’ Hossam, Amir Azmy, Wael Reyad and many others.
The Egyptian Cup is the annual football competition meant for Egyptian teams of different levels.
