Football first, because it is the national obsession. Egypt has won the Africa Cup of Nations a record 7 times, and Cairo’s Al Ahly has won more African club titles than anyone. In 2026 the national team, the Pharaohs, qualified for the World Cup after topping their group undefeated (CAF / FIFA).
At the centre of it is Mohamed Salah, Egypt’s all-time leading scorer with 68 goals in 121 appearances and one of the finest players of his generation — a Premier League and Champions League winner who is, for millions of young Egyptians, proof that the path from a Delta village to the top of world football exists.
Then there is the sport Egypt quietly rules: squash. For years Egyptian players have dominated the men’s and women’s world rankings and titles to a degree few nations achieve in any sport. And in handball, Egypt is the strongest side outside Europe — a record-tying 10 African championships and 4th-place finishes at both a World Championship and the Tokyo Olympics.
It is a revealing spread. A country of 116 million pours its heart into football and gets a genuine superstar — and then, almost unnoticed, builds a dynasty in a niche sport through sheer depth of talent. Both are Egyptian sporting stories; only one of them makes the front page.
Every figure here is real and cited, and where sources disagree we say so. You can query the same data yourself — try a SQL challenge or explore the datasets.