Egypt becomes first African Regional Supporter of FIFA World Cup 2018

CAIRO – 15 June 2018: Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation’s “Egypt – Experience and Invest” campaign Tuesday signed a contract with FIFA to introduce Egypt as the official regional supporter of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia^TM.

Signing the contract aims at promoting Egypt as a global investment destination that is capable of attracting more tourists and investments from all over the world.

“Being an Official Regional Supporter of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia^™ gives us the outreach in Africa to highlight and communicate the premium positioning and enormous investment diversity and potential Egypt has to offer,” Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr said Tuesday.

“In addition to having increased visibility thanks to the world’s most-watched sporting event, “Egypt - Experience & Invest” will engage through social media outlets and directly with football fans to showcase the wide spectrum of investment opportunities in the country,” Nasr added.

The contract marks the first World Cup sponsorship deal for FIFA in the past five years from outside China, Qatar and Russia.

It is pertinent to mention that FIFA currently has 20 sponsors of the 34 locations of the commercial program of the major 2018 event.

Egypt’s Minister of Tourism Rania al-Mashat also affirmed that Egypt - Experience and Invest is willing to use the opportunity of the Egyptian qualification to the World Cup to showcase in a modern way the rich and rewarding diversity of tourism experiences that Egypt offers.

“FIFA is delighted to sign with Egypt -Experience and Invest as an official regional supporter of the 2018 FIFA World Cup RussiaTM. Like FIFA, whose aim is to enhance the appeal of football, Egypt – Experience and Invest’s main objective is to highlight the beauty of Egypt as a country and promote its economical investment possibilities. We are happy to have another strong stakeholder on board and we cannot wait for the biggest sport show on earth to begin,” FIFA Marketing Sales and Strategy Director, Iain Downie said.

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Egypt’s national team managed to reach the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia for the first time since 1990 after beating Congo 2-1 at Borg El Arab Stadium on October 8; this however raised most of the Egyptian’s hopes to achieve good results, especially in the presence of Mohamed Salah.

This however comes amid ongoing debate between Egypt and FIFA on allowing the Egyptian state TV to broadcast World Cup matches.

On June 12, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has decided to open an investigation against FIFA for refraining from allowing the Egyptian state TV from broadcasting the 22 World Cup selected matches.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) announced that this investigation comes within the framework of COMESA's efforts to protect its members, Egypt being one of them, according to the organization rules.

It is pertinent to mention that the ECA submitted all the data regarding the FIFA’s violation to the COMESA in order to process them and open an investigation into the extent of the infringements made against Egypt, which has been member of the COMESA since 1998.