The Libyan Swehli team qualified for the second preliminary round (qualifying for the group stage) in the CAF Champions League.
Al-Suwaihli defeated its host KVZ, champions of Zanzibar, 3-0, on Sunday, in the second leg of the first preliminary round of the continental competition, repeating its victory over its rival, after previously defeating it 1-0 in the first leg, so that its qualification to the next round was well-deserved.
The goals of the match came in the second half. John Otto opened the scoring for Al-Suwaihli in the 69th minute, while his colleague Mohamed Sola added the second goal for the Libyan team in the 75th minute.
The Zanzibar champion's suffering doubled, after he played with ten players after one of his players was sent off in the 86th minute, before Al-Suwaihli added the third goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time instead of stoppage time for the second half.
With that result, Al-Suwaihli set an all-Arab date with Esperance of Tunisia, champion of the competition in 1994, 2011, 2018 and 2019, who was exempted from participating in the first preliminary round, in order to reserve a seat in the group stage of the most important and strongest tournament at the club level in the African continent.
“Total control of the podiums”... This is how the state of Egyptian handball can be summarized this year, after it confirmed its “golden” presence in international forums, and tightened its grip on continental championships, both old and young.
The latest achievement came with the Egyptian U-20 handball team winning the African Championship title on Saturday evening, after achieving an exciting victory over its Tunisian counterpart with a score of 31-29 during the final match that brought together the two teams in Côte d'Ivoire.
This is the fifteenth coronation in the history of the Egyptian national team in the African Youth Handball Championship, and it also represents the fourth title in a row, so that the Pharaohs continue their dominance over the game’s competitions on the African continent.
A few days ago, the Egyptian men's handball team won the gold medal in the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games, after defeating its Greek counterpart, 31-29, in the final match, bringing the "Pharaohs" to the podium after a distinguished journey in the tournament.
Last month, the U-18 girls’ team succeeded in writing a new birth certificate for Egyptian women’s handball with their historic qualification to the semi-finals of the World Championship in Romania for the first time ever, in an achievement that reflects the expansion of the game’s base to include both genders.
Previously, the Egyptian national handball team won the African title for the fourth time in a row and the tenth in its history during the tournament hosted by Rwanda during the month of January of this year, where the team won the final match over Tunisia with a score of 37-24 with a full score and without any defeat.
Before that, it had become common to see the “Pharaohs of the Hand” competing with the game’s greats in international forums, amid many questions about the reasons for the growing Egyptian boom in this sport.
The Egyptian national handball team also finished its participation in the 2025 World Men’s Handball Championship in fifth place under the leadership of coach Juan Carlos Pastor.
Sports critic, Ayman Haridi, believes that there are many reasons for the exceptional success of Egyptian handball and its position on the African and international throne, which placed it on the list of the game’s top players, and this is due to an integrated administrative and technical system built on long-term planning and not the result of coincidence.
He added to Asharq Al-Awsat: “The success of Egyptian handball is not recent, but its features began to appear since the 1990s by laying scientific foundations for developing the game and modernizing local competitions, which made Egypt penetrate the global rankings and compete with the top Europeans. Generations continued the march and carried the banner and excelled in recent years, especially after the emergence of new talents, which facilitated the task of coaches in choosing the best elements to defend the reputation of Egyptian handball, and the top Europeans began to take the Egyptian team into account as the strongest competitor from outside the country.” (The Old Continent).”
He points out that “the frequent participation of Egyptian players in international and continental tournaments at an early age and at levels higher than their age group has increased the players’ experience and ability to bear responsibility. Also, after successive successes, the players’ ambition to write a new history increased, and this gave them the opportunity to play professionally in the largest European teams, and the name of the Egyptian player (Brand) became special, thanks to his capabilities, confidence and enthusiasm on the field.”
Sports critic, Ahmed Magdy Ragab, attributed the achievements of Egyptian handball this year and the previous ones to an “integrated cumulative system,” as the dominance of Egyptian handball on the African continent is no longer just a phenomenon linked to the first team, the youth, or a specific golden generation, but rather it has become a reflection of continuous superiority. The matter goes beyond the limits of the tournament to building a broad base capable of constantly renewing itself.
He added to Asharq Al-Awsat: “When searching for the real answer behind the secret of excellence, we find that Egypt does not depend on one generation, but rather produces generations sequentially. The player who appears with the youth team finds a clear path to the youth teams and then the senior team, while the Egyptian clubs provide a competitive environment that polishes talent and gives the player experience in strong matches and tournaments.”
Ragab points out that the cohesion of generations and victories created a state of confidence among the various generations of Egyptian handball, which extended to the current generations and will extend to the next. The new generation does not start from scratch, but rather inherits the experience of winning and competing for championships, as this has become an established culture in the Egyptian handball mentality, and this is reflected in the players’ personalities and their ability to play major matches with consistency and confidence.
He continues: “We also do not forget the role of Hassan Mostafa, President of the International Federation of Handball, who put Egypt on the global handball map since the 1990s, and we are reaping its consequences until now.”
