The Egyptian Handball Federation held its Congress meeting on Monday, December 29, 2008 and for the first time in almost 30 years they have elected a new President without strong ties to current Egyptian and International Handball Federation President, Hassan Moustafa. The new President, Hady Fahmy, defeated Moustafa’s ally, Sayed Abd Alal, by a decisive 40-15 margin.

Moustafa, who had been the Egyptian Handball Federation President in addition to his position as IHF President was prohibited from running for re-election due a new law recently enacted by the Egyptian Olympic Committee to limit Sport Federation Presidents to two terms. This law was implemented reportedly after Moustafa got into a heated argument with Egyptian Olympic Committee President, Hassan Saker, following Egypt’s disappointing performance in Beijing. In addition to implementing the new law it is also worth noting that the new Egyptian Federation President was fully supported by Hassan Saker.

This national federation defeat could significantly impact next year’s IHF Presidential Election in June. Despite controversies surrounding President Moustafa’s involvement in the Asian Olympic Qualification scandal and questions surrounding his failure to provide receipts for IHF travel, Moustafa was seen by many as headed towards re-election. Notably, the selection of Egypt as the host site for the IHF Congress was seen as favorable to Moustafa because as host, Egypt could provide financial support (lodging and travel) to IHF members from poorer countries. Given the circumstances of the recent election, however, it seems less likely that the new Egyptian Federation leadership will wholeheartedly back a Moustafa candidacy.

Egyptian News Source (Arabic): http://www.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=59709
Egyptian Daily News (English): "Local sports in 2008: achievements, failures and disputes": http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=18806

Editor’s Note: This article was written based on a translation of an Egyptian article (see above) and other sources. Special thanks to Mohamed Elmira for his assistance