Abdu Saleh al-Wahsh

Abdu Saleh al-Wahsh

A former football player, he was also President of Al-Ahly Club. Al-Wahsh was born on May 9, 1929 at Sayyeda Zeinab, Cairo – Egypt.

Coached Al-Ahly's First Football Team (1959)

Worked as Educational Supervisor in Kuwait (1963) for five years

Returned to coaching Al-Ahly (1967)

Became President of Al-Ahly Sporting Club (1988 to 1992)

Was director of the technical department at the African Football Federation (1982)

Elected interim President of the Egyptian Football Federation (2000)

One of the eight experts on the FIFA Technical Committee

Tahani Tosson

Tahani Tosson

Date of birth

September 22, 1972, Minya, Egypt

National Volleyball Team Captain Tahani Tosson was Egypt's primary weapon in African (9 times) and local Ahly wins (15 times). She displayed enough powerful hits and subtle touches at the net to keep her opponent's defense on its toes.

Hassan Shehata

Hassan Shehata

As former Zamalek Club player and as National Team coach, Hassan Shehata has earned the title: "Master of Egyptian Football". He is the only Egyptian footballer to be chosen best player in Asia in 1971 when he played for the Kuwaiti Kazhmah Club, pulling up it from third to first league team. He was so excelled that the Kuwaiti Armed Forces recruited him to take part in the World Military Football Championship in Bangkok, Thailand.

Shehata was born in June 1947 to a sports-loving family. He started playing football at age 10 as a primary stage student at Kafr al-Dawar school.

Zamalek, Shehata's local club, incorporated a clause in his contract with Kazhmah which made it possible for him to play for Egypt's national team. In 1969, he participated in his first international match against Libya. Since then, he became the team's number one player, with the formation being built around him. During his career as a player, he took part in 70 international matches and four African Championships.

Shehata left Kazhmah Club in October 1973, playing one game with Zamalek on October 5, only to have the 1973 October War break out a day later. In 1974, Cairo hosted the African Cup of Nations championship in which Shehata was crowned best player.

With a long résumé of training Zamalek, Suez, Minya and the Arab Contractors clubs, he was chosen to coach the National Team in 2005. Under his tenure, Egypt won the Africa Cup of Nations – 2006 – Cairo, Egypt, the Pan-Arab Games – 2007 – Cairo, Egypt and the Africa Cup of Nations – 2008 – Accra – Ghana.

Thabet al-Batal

Thabet al-Batal

Thabet al-Batal is one of Egypt's famous goal keepers. He was born on September 16, 1963 and played for Al Hawamdia club until he was discovered by Abdu Al Bakal, the famous talent-spotter. He joined Ahly team in the 1972/1973 season beginning his career in the friendly match between Ahly and Ittihad when he prevented a score from a penalty kick ensuring a 1/0 win for Ahly.

Thabet El Batal helped Ahly win the league championship several times and after 17 whole seasons, he retired in the match between Ahly and Aswan in 1991.

Thabet al-Batal has a long record with the Egyptian National Team. He joined the squad in 1974 and in 14 years he secured a lot of wins. The most prominent was that of the Africa Cup of Nations in 1987. He also played with National in the Olympics.

After retiring as goal-keeper, al-Batal coached Al-Ahly and succeeded in securing 5 successive league championship wins, 1 Egypt Cup championship win, 2 Arab Cup Winner Cup championship wins and 2 Super Cup championship wins.

Mahmoud al-Khateeb (Bibo)

Mahmoud al-Khateeb (Bibo)

One of the most famous footballers known to Egypt, al-Khateeb –nicknamed Bibo – was born on October 30, 1954 in Aga – Daqaheleya. He later moved to Cairo where he played for al-Nasr team before Ahly's talent-spotters discovered and signed him on to the team's football squad in 1971.

For 16 years, Al-Khateeb played for Al-Ahly. During that time he helped secure a ten-time-win of Egypt's League Championship and a five-time-win of the national Cup Championship; al-Ahly also won the African Cup Winners' Cup 3 times and the CAF Champions League twice.

* Achievements:

* Personal

• African Footballer of the Year (Ballon D'Or) by France Football magazine 1983.

• Arab Sportsman of the 20th Century.

• Best Egyptian Player in the history of the game.

• Has 108 goals for Al-Ahly in his name in the Egyptian league.

• Top Egyptian League Scorer twice (1977/78 & 1980/81)

• African Club Cups' All-time Top Scorer (37 goals).

• Second best African Footballer in the last 50 years by the CAF.

* Al-Ahly

• 10 Egyptian League titles

• 6 Egyptian Soccer Cup titles

• 2 African Champions League titles

• 3 African Cup Winners Cup titles

Abdel-Lattif Abu-Heif

Abdel-Lattif Abu-Heif

Abdel Lattif Abu Heif was born on September 30, 1929 in the popular district of Bahari in Alexandria. He is a five-time world swimming champion who graduated from Britain's Sand Hurst Military Academy in 1956.

He was awarded the Sports honor and named the Twentieth Century Swimmer in May 2001 for his great achievements in the field. The International Marathon Swimming Federation named him the greatest swimmer in world history. He crossed the English Channel three times (setting a new world record) and was chosen one of the world's best three swimmers ever.

In 1955, he won first place in the first international English Channel race despite competing such international swimmers as the American Tom Park. Abu Heif dedicated the prize money to the family of British swimmer Mathews Web, who drowned in the English Channel while crossing it alone unaccompanied. Mathews Web left behind a family of seven.

Abu Heif also won first place in the world's longest once-ever-to-be-held long-distance race (1963); it took 36 hours to cross 135 kilometers in Lake Michigan in the United States. Abu Heif also won in Argentina, and was able to swim for 60 hours from Rosario to Buenos Aires. Because none of the swimmers could finish the race, they were ranked according to the distances they covered. Abu Heif won first place. Along with Mari Hamad, he also won first place in the Seine River Race in France in 1952. He dedicated the prize to French swimmer Georges Valery who had just become paralyzed.

In the Montreal swimming race, he had to compete against famous world champions. It was a relay race and he had to alternate on an hourly basis with the Italian Julio Travello. After the second hour, Travello went to hospital and never returned and Abu Heif had inevitably to swim alone for 30 hours in a row. All other competitors had withdrawn on account of fatigue. This lengthy, violent race was never again to be staged. Following the race, he was awarded the title of Best Long-Distance Swimmer in History by the International Swimming Federation

Due to his popularity and generosity, Abu Heif was named the world's best sportsman in 1963. This put him in the golden list with Pelé, the Brazilian football player.

Source article:

Egypt State Information Service

Rania Elwani

Rania Elwani

An Olympic Egyptian swimmer entitled as bride of Egyptian swimming.

R. Elwani could succeed at the Egyptian, Arab, African and universal levels. She started career as swimmer while still 6 years old. She began to win medals and awards at the age of ten.

Swimming pools in Geneva witnessed her championships. Her first win was in Africa swimming championship in Tunis. Rania then could win ten medals after collecting 119 points out of 207 achieved by the Egyptian team as a whole.

She went on winning till she turned to be the first Egyptian feminine swimmer to break the one minute barrier in the 100 free swimming race. She was also the first girl to break 28 seconds barrier in the free 50 meters swimming.

Rania got more fame in the 5th Africa Olympics in Cairo where she won five gold medals and five silver and bronze ones.

She got the super cup in Geneva championship as best swimmer when she won the 500 meters free swimming race.

She was chosen as the best Arab girl swimmer in the BBC referendum in1992.

Rania announced quitting swimming in 2000 keeping away once and for all from swimming pools. She made up her mind to study medicine.

Source article:

Egypt State Information Service

Mohammad Rashwan

Mohammad Rashwan
Mohamed Ali Rashwan (born January 16, 1956) is a retired Egyptian judoka. At the 1984 Summer Olympics, he won the silver medal in the men's Open Class category. He is also:

• Winner of Fair-play International Award in 1984;

• Silver medalist world judo championship in open weight 1985; and

• Silver medalist world judo championship in heavy weight 1985.

In 1984, he deliberately lost the finals to Japan's Yasuhiro Yamashita, who tore a right calf muscle in the preliminaries. Rashwan explained that he did not aim for Yamashita's right leg because he was conscious of his competitor's injury.

He also won the gold medal in the heavyweight and open class category in the African Championship in 1982 and 1983.

His first international participation was in 1972 in Czechoslovakia and Spain.

Rashwan retired in 1992 and is now member of the Egyptian Judo Federation and an international judo judge. He trains the Arab Contractors Judo team.

Source article:

Egypt State Information Service

Saleh Selim

Saleh Selim
Saleh Selim was born in Cairo the 11th of September 1930. His father Dr. Mohamed Selim was a renowned MD.

Saleh graduated from Cairo University, Faculty of Commerce. He was married with two sons, Khaled and Hisham Selim. He had two younger brothers, Abdel-Wahab and Tarek Selim.

Saleh joined El-Ahly Club which was like a second home to him in 1944. He started as a football player, and then became the club team manager, then a member of the board of directors, until the year 1980 when he was elected the president of El-Ahly Club.

Due to his fame and massive popularity Selim was dragged in the show business. He starred in three movies opposite top Egyptian actors.

Saleh was a five-time President of El-Ahly Club. During his presidency, the club won 12 League titles, 8 Cup titles, 3 African champion titles, 4 African cups, 1 African super cup, 4 Arab champion titles, and 1 Afro-Asian title (33 titles in all).

Also under his tenure, El Ahly was chosen African Club of the Century; Saleh received the award in Johannesburg, South Africa on May, 22, 2001.

On May 6, 2002, Saleh died of liver cancer, an illness for which he was treated in London, which he kept a secret from his fans.

Source article:

Egypt State Information Service

Amr Shabana

Amr Shabana

Amr Shabana (born 20 July 1979, Cairo) is a professional squash player. He won the World Open in 2003, 2005 and 2007, and reached the World No. 1 ranking in 2006.

In December 2007, Shabana was also crowned world champion for the third time in five years at the Endurance World Open in Bermuda.

Awards Order of Sports – First Class (Egypt) (2006)

Player of the Year in the World Squash Awards in London (Professional Squash Association) (2006)

Source article:

Egypt State Information Service