CAIRO: Zamalek will be eager to get back to winning when they host a winless Arab Contractors side in the Egyptian Premier League third round on Monday. The rejuvenated Whites lost at home to Petrojet in dramatic fashion last week and will strive to prove that the misery of previous seasons is over. Zamalek excelled …

CAIRO: Harras Hodoud coach Tarek Al-Ashri is keeping his fingers crossed over the fitness of central defender Hani Saied ahead of Sunday s Egyptian Premier League clash against Ahly. With defender Ahmed Assem already out of the anticipated game due to injury, Al-Ashri is hoping Saied can shake off his complaint in time to play …

CAIRO: Ahly will face a stern challenge from Harras Hodoud to maintain their winning streak of their Egyptian Premier League campaign, coach Hossam Al-Badri said on Saturday. The Red Devils, who are bidding to win a sixth consecutive league title, made it two wins out of two when they defeated Police Union 2-1 on Wednesday. …

ISMAILIA: Nebojsa Vuckovic s tenure in charge of Ismaili lasted for just two matches after the club sacked him on Saturday for refusing to switch the team s 4-4-2 formation. The club reached an agreement with Vuckovic to terminate his contract, Ismaili said in a statement on their official website. Youth team coach Emad Soliman …

CAIRO: Zamalek striker Amr Zaki denied that he s eager to return to the English Premier League, saying he has already decided to stay at the Cairo club till the end of the current season. SkySports.com on Friday published a lengthy interview with the former Wigan Athletic star, in which he expressed a desire to …

CAIRO: Twelve Zamalek swimmers have been diagnosed with Swine flu along with their coach, club s spokesman Sabri Serag said. The swimmers were infected right after their participation in the Cairo Championship, which took place at Ahly club. There were more than 1,000 swimmers at same area, and that s why some people went down …

ISMAILIA: Ismaili assistant coach Ahmed Al-Agouz echoed manager Nebojsa Vuckovic s defense of the team s 4-4-2 formation despite the 3-2 defeat at home to ENPPI. Last season s runners-up Ismaili failed to register their first Egyptian Premier League win after ENPPI battered their defense on Thursday. Some slack marking from defensive duo Moatasem Salem …

CAIRO: Zamalek s 2-1 Egyptian Premier League defeat to Petrojet will not have any effects on the team s title chances, assistant coach Abdel-Halim Ali said. The White Knights failed to make it two wins out of two after Petrojet stunned them in Cairo on Thursday. Their fans, who had sky-high hopes after the club …

CAIRO: The ongoing broadcasting saga between Egyptian Premier League clubs and state TV has been resolved on Thursday. Egyptian Higher Council of Sports president Hassan Sakr struck a deal with state TV, following an order from Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to solve the problem immediately. Sakr held a meeting with Egyptian Football Association chief Samir …

CAIRO: Egyptian Football Association (EFA) chairman Samir Zaher said that Mohamed Zidan s recent behavior forced the tough decisions taken against him despite his importance to the team. Zidan was fined by the EFA before being ruled out until further notice by coach Hassan Shehata for failing to show up on time for a friendly …

CAIRO: Ismaili accepted an offer from Emirate side Sharjah to sign Iraqi striker Mostafa Karim, the Dervishes chairman said. We have agreed to sell Karim to Sharjah for $325,000. We will send his ITC to Sharjah soon, president Nasr Aboul-Hassan told FilGoal.com. Karim was free to sign for any club in January and we couldn’t …

CAIRO: Clubs did not allow the state TV to air Wednesday s Egyptian Premier League matches after both parties failed to reach an agreement over the ongoing broadcasting saga. The games weren’t broadcast on private cable networks, who did not meet the clubs asking price to buy the TV rights. However, the state TV was …

CAIRO: Egypt coach Hassan Shehata has decided to exclude Mohamed Zidan from the national team s squad until further notice, following the player’s recent indiscipline. Zidan failed to show up for Egypt s friendly against Guinea last week and didn’t answer Shehata s phone calls after skipping the game. The Borussia Dortmund striker was later …

CAIRO: The Egyptian youth handball team were eliminated from the Junior World Championship s semi-final after losing 27-21 to Denmark on Monday. Denmark were superior throughout the game and managed to claim an 11-7 first-half lead and condemn the hosts to their second defeat of the tournament. Egypt will now face Slovenia in the third-place …

CAIRO: Ismaili beat Arab all-star team 3-1 on Sunday in the testimonial match of Mohamed Salah Abou-Greisha, who now holds a position in the coastal club s board. Former Ismaili striker and current Harras Hodoud assistant coach Abdel-Hamid Bassiouni hit a brace for the Dervishes, and Abdullah Al-Saied added the third. Tunisian international Mohamed Selliti, …

CAIRO: Dubai businessman Soliman Al-Fahim, who s set to acquire Portsmouth in the near future, said he’s convinced with Amr Zaki s capabilities. Pompey were mooted a while back as a possible destination for the Zamalek star, but the Cairo club have repeatedly laid stress on their desire to hold onto him. However, they failed …

CAIRO: Ahmed “Mido Hossam scored his first goal for Zamalek to help them to a 2-1 victory over second-division side MCDR in a friendly game on Sunday. The towering striker, who joined Zamalek from English side Middlesbrough on a season-long loan, opened the scoring midway through the first half. He met a right-wing cross from …

ISMAILIA: Ismaili duo Mohamed Hommos and Ahmed Khairi have been ruled out of the Dervishes upcoming Egyptian Premier League game against ENPPI through injury. Hommos needs to rest for another week to recuperate from an abdominal muscle tear, while Khairi is still undergoing a two-week rehabilitation program, Ismaili chief medic Magdi Al-Baz stated. Khairi had …

CAIRO: Abdel-Zaher Al-Saqqa admitted being upset that Egypt technical staff kept ignoring him, despite the “good performances he put in of late . The Eskisehirspor defender was named in Egypt s provisional squad for the exhibition match against Oman on May 30, but was omitted from the final list for no apparent reason. Al-Saqqa hasn …

ALEXANDRIA: Harras Hodoud were held on Friday to a 1-1 draw by Stade Malien at Max Stadium in the CAF Confederation Cup group stage. Ahmed Abdel-Ghani broke the deadlock on 38 minutes after converting a spot kick, but Bakary Coulibaly brought the score level after the interval to prevent the hosts from claiming all three …

ALEXANDRIA: Ittihad will be without a number of key defenders when they face Arab Contractors in the Egyptian Premier League on Wednesday. The Alexandrians suffered a double blow as skipper Shadi Mohamed pulled a hamstring and center-half Youssef Abdel-Rahim injured his knee against Petrojet last week. We have a big problem in defense because Shadi …

CAIRO: Mohamed Barakat refuted on Saturday reports indicating that he would not prolong his Ahly stay unless he received LE 3 million per season. The versatile midfielder s talks with Ahly to pen a three-year contract extension have stalled due to his salary demands, local reports had suggested. I did not discuss anything with the …

CAIRO: Zamalek reiterated on Friday that striker Amr Zaki will not leave the club this summer. The Cairo giants said earlier this month that the combative frontman, who spent last season on loan at English side Wigan Athletic, will stay put. But reports emerged afterwards that Portsmouth were interested in luring him to Fratton Park. …

CAIRO: Egypt booked a place in the Junior World Championship with an impressive 28-22 victory over France on Saturday. Egypt, who won the first half 14-11, finish Group A in second place behind Germany as both teams have eight points, but the later are superior in the head-to-head record. The young Pharaohs will face Group …

Pow, With one fell swoop Million Dollar Baby has jumped from the silver screen onto the Olympic canvas. Women s boxing will now be included in the 2012 Games in London. While the sight of two women knocking each other silly might not appeal to everybody, the inclusion of such a bloody sport in the …

CAIRO: Sherif Abdel-Fadil played his first match with Ahly as the Red Devils slumped to a surprising 2-0 defeat to Egyptian league newcomers Military Production in a friendly game on Thursday. The combative defender, who joined Ahly from bitter rivals Ismaili in the close season, was included in the starting line-up to make his debut. …

CAIRO: Ahly are favorites to win the race of signing highly-rated Egypt youth team star Abdel-Rahman Barakat from Smouha. Barakat, 18, is being watched by Ahly and ENPPI, who both expressed interest in signing him from the Alexandrian side. Officials from Ahly and ENPPI have contacted me and asked to sign Abdel-Rahman, but Smouha must …

CAIRO: Zamalek signed Egypt s U-20 striker Ahmed Fathi Bougi from second-division side Qenah on a five-year deal, the Cairo club announced on Thursday. The deal has been finalized, Zamalek spokesman Sabri Serag told Al-Hayat TV. The White Knights will pay le 3 million for Qenah to land the highly-rated frontman. He is the second …

CAIRO: Egypt’s national team will be heavily boosted if Ahmed “Mido Hossam, Amr Zaki and Mohamed Barakat become available for the crunch World Cup qualifier against Rwanda, assistant coach Shawki Gharib said. The Pharaohs were far from convincing when they faced Guinea in a friendly game on Wednesday without the influential trio. They were held …