Egyptian football team considers hiring psychiatrist

CAIRO – 3 April 2017: Egypt’s national team is considering requesting a full-time psychiatrist to accompany the team on its tours and help players deal with stress,

Youm7 reported

Sunday. The Pharoahs’ coaching staff may take the request to the Egyptian Football Association.

It is common practice for major sports teams across the world to have on-call psychiatrists, the report said. Psychiatrists can help players prepare mentally for difficult games and help them deal with challenges both on and off the pitch.

Pharoahs players are drawn from Egypt’s local teams, and consequently the national team’s coaching staff, headed by Hector Cuper, has already officially requested the football associate provide local Egyptian teams with psychiatrists to help them deal with stress, particularly major teams such as Al-Ahly and Zamalek,

Youm7 reported

.

Essam Abdel Fattah, head of Egypt’s refereeing committee, said he has used psychiatrists in the past to help referees cope with pressure laid on them by local teams following referee Masr El Makssa’s faulty call that led Zamalek Chairman Mortada Mansour to threaten to pull out of the league.

The Egyptian national team picked up an easy win over Togo 3-0 in a friendly game Tuesday night at Borg Al Arab Stadium, and is currently preparing for their face off against Tunisia in the African Nations Championship qualifiers, slated to take place in Cameroon 2019.