The Paralympic Family in Egypt has witnessed a number of important events this week.
It started with a constitutional assembly held at the Egyptian Paralympic Committee (EPC) to announce the formation of a number of National Paralympic Federations for swimming, powerlifting, athletics and wheelchair basketball. As Dr. Hossam Eldin Mustafa, EPC President explained,” It is the new strategy of the International Paralympic Committee to have federations standing on their own with seperate entities to be responsible for the different sports that are played under the paralympic movement. It is a decentralization step that makes the movement bigger and allow each federation to work separately and try to implement its own strategic plan and reach out for more disabled athletes and work on them to make them future Paralympians. We have started doing this years ago as we have in Egypt separate federation for sitting volleyball, cerebral palsy, blind federation and one for people with intellectual disabilities, but we decided that we need more independent sports federations standing on their own.”
Furthermore, during a press conference held at Maadi Olympic Center, the Confederation of African Amputee Football (CAAF) has signed a contract for Egypt to host the coming African Amputee Football Nations Cup from 18-26th April 2024 which is the qualifier for the World Amputee Football Federation (FWAFF) World Cup 2026. The contract was signed by Dr. Hossam Eldeen Mustafa, President of the EPC, Mr Mohamed Adel Hosni, head of the amputee football local organising committee and Mustafa Usman Shalanyuy, Vice President of the Confederation of CAAF.
The ceremony was also attended by Khaled Attia Eladl, CAAF Treasurer, Georg Schlachtenberger, WAFF Secretary General and governing board members from the Egyptian Paralympic Committee and the Egyptian Amputee Football Federation. During the nine-day tournament, 16 African teams will compete to decide which teams will qualify for the 2026 Amputee Football World Cup. Mustafa Usman Shalanyuy said “For the African amputee family, this upcoming tournament will be another important milestone to showcase the excellence of our players to the fans, to Africa and to the whole world. It is all due to the outstanding commitment of Mohamed Adel Hosni and Sarah Ahmed El Maayrgi, both business leaders, who have already shown their commitment to amputee football in recent years by supporting and believing in the abilities of the Egyptian amputee football, organising a football academy, supporting the team and now starting a national league.”
Elmaayrgi went on to say, “It will be a great pleasure and honour to organise this prestigious tournament in Cairo and we will ensure that the players, teams, spectators and media have a great environment to play and work in. We will also organise a media campaign to promote the tournament and spread the message to the public through social media.” Georg Schlachtenberger was delighted with the announcement; the tournament will be a real highlight for amputee football worldwide. “Our movement is growing, especially in Africa, and we are very pleased that Cairo is hosting this important World Cup qualifier and organising it not only very professionally, but also with commitment and passion. We will be watching next April. – Amputee football – not only skill, speed, agility, coordination, but above all emotion.”
The Confederation of African Amputee Football (CAAF) is the Governing Body for amputee football in Africa and member of the World Amputee Football Federation (WAFF). Its mission is to include and support people with amputations or limb defects, increase their access to amputee football opportunities, and use football to improve their quality of life.
The Egyptian Amputee football has entered in a closed camp to prepare for the coming First Africa Paralympic Games to take place in Ghana next September.
