CAIRO: Egyptian Football Association (EFA) President Samir Zaher paid a visit to Algerian side USM Bejaia, in an attempt to patch up things, after Masri technical staff’s inappropriate behavior in a game with the Algerian club last month. Bejaia, who are currently in Tunisia to face Esperance in the final of the North African Cup, …

CAIRO: Egypt s U-20 team succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Nigeria in their first game at the 2009 African Youth Championship in Rwanda. Defender Kingsley Udoh gave the Eagles the lead with a 36th minute header, before Yakubu Alfa added a second 10 minutes after the break with a long range shot. Later on …

CAIRO: Ahly assistant coach Hossam Al-Badri highlighted the progress of young defender Mohamed Samir, following Monday s victory over Harras Hodoud. Samir deputized for skipper Shadi Mohamed at the heart of defense as the African champions claimed the league s top spot with a slender 1-0 victory over the in-form Hodoud. Commenting on the performance …

CAIRO: Ahly beat Harras Hodoud 1-0 in the Egyptian Premier League game played in Cairo on Monday. Angolan Flavio Amado scored the only goal of the game courtesy of a 36th minute header. The Red Devils started the game without Mohamed Abou-Trika, who s in Germany for a medical check-up. Injured Hossam Ashour also didn’t …

CAIRO: Ittihad s talks with Ghanaian playmaker Awuley Quaye Junior to sign him in the January transfer window have fell through due to financial differences. Junior was close to signing for the Alexandria-based club after passing a medical test on Saturday. The gap between Ittihad s offer and Junior s demands is wide, the former …

CAIRO: Saudi side Wehda have made a bid to sign Ahly midfielder Ahmed Hassan before the closure of the January transfer window, a source close to the player said on Sunday. Wehda officials contacted Hassan when he was in Saudi Arabia to participate in their friendly against Bayern Munich, the source, who preferred to remain …

VARAZDIN: Serbia improved its chances of moving into the second round of the handball World Championships in Group D by defeating Egypt 30-22. Norway and Denmark are favorites in the group, while the third placed team also advances to the second round. Serbia now has a good chance to take that spot unless Egypt beats …

CAIRO: Zamalek striker Junior Agogo has rejoined his teammates in training, following his absence from Friday s session. The muscular player deliberately skipped training on Friday after he had found out that an amount of money have been deducted from his dues for no apparent reason. According to Zamalek s official website, the Ghanaian international …

CAIRO: Ahly playmaker Mohamed Abou-Trika hasn’t given up hope of playing for a high-profile European team at some point during his career. “I do still have the desire to excel and play for a big team in Europe, Abou-Trika said in an interview with BBC Sport on Saturday. The Egyptian international, who has been recently …

CAIRO: ENPPI were dealt a major blow with the news that winger Islam Awad might miss the rest of the season after tearing a cruciate ligament in his right knee. Awad sustained the injury during ENPPI s victory over Tersana in the Egyptian Cup quarter-final on Thursday. The player will undergo a surgery soon, ENPPI …

JOHANNESBURG: Egypt star Mohamed Abou-Trika was named 2008 BBC African Footballer of the Year Friday. The 30-year-old midfielder received more than half of 155,000 votes from listeners to the global service and was followed by Emmanuel Adebayor of Togo, Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast, Samuel Eto o of Cameroon and Amr Zaki of Egypt. Abou-Trika …

In this devastating three-week monster aggression, as the Palestinian death toll jumps over 1,100, almost half of them women and children, the profligate of bloodshed from Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip has forced one athlete to take action. Then action was taken against him. In his desire to express support for Palestine, Frederic Kanoute …

CAIRO: Ahly star Mohamed Abou-Trika is set to fly to Germany on Thursday in order to undergo a check-up on his troublesome knee. Ahly said on their official website that the 30-year-old, who will be accompanied by Doctor Ihab Ali, felt slight pain to his knee during the past few days. The Egypt playmaker underwent …

JOHANNESBURG: A new name will be engraved on the African Footballer of the Year trophy next month after three stars were short-listed on Wednesday for the 2008 award. Arsenal and Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor is favored to top a poll among Africa-based national coaches with midfielders Michael Essien of Chelsea and Ghana, and Mohamed Abou-Trika …

CAIRO: Shabab chairman Khaled Al-Baltan indicated that the Saudi club is expecting a response from Egyptian champions Ahly on loan offers for both strikers, Flavio Amado and Osama Hosni. Recent Saudi reports suggested that Shabab want Angolan hit-man Flavio until the end of the season in return for ?500,000. Al-Baltan confirmed that official talks between …

CAIRO: FIFA have presented Palestine with the inaugural Development Award during the Footballer of the Year Gala ceremony in Zurich. The award was intended to demonstrate the efforts made by the war-torn nation in renovating an international-standard stadium in Ramallah last October. The Palestinian Football Association receives the award in recognition of the difficult task …

CAIRO: Egypt made slight progress in the monthly FIFA ranking for national teams by moving up to the 15th place for the first time ever. The Pharaohs had leaped unprecedented into the 16th place last month, and yet they advanced one more place in the January edition to mark their best-ever rank. Regionally, the six-time …

CAIRO: Zamalek are on the verge of signing Cotonsport defensive midfielder Stephane Kingue Mpondo, the player s agent told FilGoal.com. According to the agent, Mpondo has agreed all personal terms with Zamalek, and is set to officially sign for the White Knights later on Monday. Mpondo has been an integral part of the Cotonsport team, …

ISMAILIYA: Ismaili are not willing to sell Iraqi striker Mostafa Karim, amid speculation suggesting his exit this winter, the club board said. The 21-year-old has reportedly impressed some Arab clubs with his performances in the ongoing Gulf Cup of Nations in Oman. However, Ismaili board member Walid Al-Kilani denied that the club have received any …

CAIRO: Zamalek football director Ahmed Refaat confirmed that no changes will be made to the club s technical staff, who will work with new coach Michel Decastel. Refaat and assistant coach Ahmed Ramzi have been in charge of Zamalek since the sacking of coach Reiner Hollmann. In addition to Refaat and Ramzi, trainer Moemen Soliman …

CAIRO: Zamalek striker Gamal Hamza expressed his dismay at being substituted early in the second half during his team s 1-0 loss to Ahly on Sunday. Hamza was replaced by Ayman Abdul-Aziz on 60 minutes, and Zamalek trainer Moemen Soliman said that the player was not fit enough to play the whole game. I could …

CAIRO: Ahly captain Shadi Mohamed dished out praise for Zamalek counterpart Ayman Abdel-Aziz, saying the White Knights would have been more effective if he had been included in his team s Cairo derby starting eleven. The Zamalek veteran was introduced as a substitute midway in the second half of Sunday s game, which ended in …

CAIRO: Ahly beat Zamalek 1-0 to win the 102nd Cairo derby, which was played at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday. Amado Flavio scored the only goal of the game, courtesy of an 81st minute header. Defender Mohamed Samir was given his derby debut and Ahmed Fathi started in defence for Ahly due to Wael …

CAIRO: Zamalek have officially signed Michel Decastel as the club’s new coach. The Swiss tactician signed a one and half year deal with the White Knights on Sunday in the presence of club vice president Mohamed Amer. Decastel, who was relieved from his position as Etoile du Sahel coach in October, previously worked in Africa …

CAIRO: Zamalek trainer Moemen Soliman said that four players from the team which lost to Ahly were not fully fit to play the whole game. In the derby were Zamalek lost 1-0, left-back Ricardo, midfielder Mohamed Aboul-Ella and striker Gamal Hamza were all given their first starts in over a month. In the second half, …

CAIRO: Prior to the Cairo derby, police arrested a group of football fans that goes by the name of Ahly Ultras after former Egypt goalkeeper and TV host Ahmed Shobeir criticized the group’s numerous violations. Reportedly, security was tighter than usual at the Cairo International Stadium, where the Ahly-Zamalek game took place, in anticipation of …

ISMAILIYA: Without revealing his destination, Ismaili striker Mohamed Fadl confirmed that he will be leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of the current season. The former Ahly man said earlier that he wasn’t happy with the terms offered by Ismaili to extend his stay at the club. I already agreed on …

CAIRO: Olympic president Ahmed Al-Sweisi said that Ahly are interested in buying club defender Ateya Al-Belqasi during the ongoing transfer window. “A number of intermediate agents contacted the club about the possibility of luring Al-Belqasi to Ahly, Al-Sweisi told FilGoal.com. From his side, the 25-year-old player said that he’d be honored with a move to …

LAGOS: Chelsea duo Michael Essien and Didier Drogba face competition from Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor and Egyptians Mohamed Abou-Trika and Amr Zaki in the race to be named African Player of 2008. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed that Egypt’s Abou-Trika and Zaki, who play for Al-Ahly and Wigan respectively, Togo’s Adebayor, Ghanian Essien and …