Egyptian club Zamalek announced, on Thursday, the payment of late financial dues to Beninese Samson Akinola, the team’s former player, as part of the settlement that was agreed upon between the two parties during the last period.
Hossam Al-Mandouh, Treasurer of Zamalek Club, said in statements to the club’s media center, today, Thursday, that the administration has finished paying Akinola’s dues, in accordance with the agreement concluded with him, indicating that the club is currently working on preparing the financial dues of Tunisian Ferjani Sassi, the former team player, in preparation for paying them by the end of this October.
Al-Mandouh added that the Zamalek administration is committed to implementing the financial settlements it reached with the former players and coaches, before obtaining the license to participate in the African championships at the end of last July.
He explained that the club seeks to fulfill all its financial obligations on the specified dates. To avoid entering into new disputes or complaints before the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).
The Treasurer of Zamalek confirmed that the administration is making great efforts to provide the necessary financial liquidity to pay the late dues, stressing the continuation of work in accordance with this policy during the coming period. To ensure that all parties receive their financial dues without entering into new legal crises.
Al-Mandouh concluded his statements by confirming that the Zamalek administration is keen to end the outstanding financial files with former players and coaches, in a way that preserves the club’s stability and avoids it being exposed to new disputes before international sports bodies.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has decided the official date for the match between South Sudanese champions Merreikh Bentiu and its guest, Pyramids of Egypt, scheduled for Friday in the first leg of the round of 32 of the African Champions League.
The match observer confirmed during the technical meeting held on Thursday that the match will start at 4:30 pm Cairo time, 3:30 pm local time in Juba, at Juba International Stadium in the capital of South Sudan.
The Pyramids Club media center stated today that Al-Merrikh Club Bentiu had submitted a request to CAF to move the start of the match forward by half an hour, to be held at four in the afternoon, Cairo time, instead of four-thirty.
The CAF observer notified the officials of the two clubs during the technical meeting to maintain the previously scheduled date without making any amendments, to resolve the controversy regarding the timing of the start of the confrontation.
The return match is scheduled to be held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and the winner of the two teams in the aggregate of the first-leg and return matches will qualify for the group stage in the most important and strongest competition at the club level in the African continent.
Egyptian wrestler Mostafa Hussein attracted attention with the results he achieved in the U-23 World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championship, where he won the gold medal and was crowned world champion during the tournament held in Las Vegas, America.
The Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports considered the Egyptian wrestler Mustafa Hussein’s winning of the gold medal a “moment of pride,” and published the final scene of the tournament, writing on its Facebook account: “A celebration for our world champion Mustafa Hussein after winning the gold medal in the World Under-23 Greco-Roman Wrestling Championship, and raising the Egyptian flag high on the international podiums... Congratulations, champion... and more achievements and raising the name of Egypt high.”
The name Mustafa Hussein caught attention after it topped the trend on the X platform in Egypt on Thursday, and many of the platform’s users posted scenes of him in the semi-final match manipulating his Ukrainian opponent, whom he defeated 9 to zero, to advance to the final round and beat the European champion Hungary with a score of (5-2) to be crowned world champion in U-23 Romanian wrestling.
Egyptian sports critic Ayman Haridy sees the achievement achieved by wrestler Mostafa Hussein, after he faced his Ukrainian rival, Irvan Mirzoev, in the U-23 World Championship in the United States of America, and winning the gold medal after defeating his Hungarian opponent, “an official confirmation of the glow of Egyptian wrestling, which has become among the top players in the game, thanks to the talent that represents Egypt and its insistence on excelling and sitting on the podium, despite the difficulties facing most Egyptian champions.”
He added to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the success of the Egyptian champion did not come out of nowhere, but after a strong journey of challenge, training, and the desire to raise the Egyptian flag, and not be afraid to face any opponent in the world, in addition to the international reputation of Egyptian wrestling, which has become the “bogeyman” of competitors in all international forums.”
Haridi stressed that we must pay attention to these heroes, work to increase their capabilities, provide an appropriate training environment, provide them with the opportunity for international contact, and establish foreign camps to preserve them, as they are a sporting treasure that contributes to raising the Egyptian flag.
Egyptian sports critic Mohamed Al-Barami confirms that “Egypt has a wonderful history in wrestling competitions, and it has many champions, and it is one of the games in which we won medals, and we have a historical hero like Karam Gaber.” While Al-Barami affirms his happiness with Mustafa Hussein’s victory and this great sweep of the final of the World Youth Greco-Roman Wrestling Championship under 23 years of age held in the United States of America, he hoped that this champion would receive support and preparation for the Olympics and bet on his abilities. He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “This hero deserves financial support first before moral support. Preparing for these tournaments and games is not easy, and supporting this hero will be a positive message, especially since during the past months we have seen more than one escape incident for a number of players, which is a bad indicator, and therefore supporting those who achieve a medal is a necessary message at this moment.”
Al-Barami continued: “I repeat that I hope that the Sports Administration in Egypt will allocate the greatest support to the games in which we always achieve positive results, including wrestling and weightlifting. The bet is always more on Olympic medals than on world championships.”
