CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced that each of the Egyptian champions who won medals in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will have a road named after them.
In a statement on Egyptian state television, President El-Sisi stressed that the efforts made to develop Egyptian sports are not enough to achieve great sporting achievements. El-Sisi said "Faryal Ashraf raised the name of Egypt, she and all those who won medals in the Olympics, so we will name roads after her and her fellow heroes."
He continued, "we have made efforts in the last period, but I do not think that they are enough. We have built a number of sports facilities and sports cities, but is what we have done enough to achieve great sports achievements? I say no."
He added, "The attention should not be from the state only, let's look at what the Faryal Ashraf's family is doing and how they raised a heroine."
"The players’ families play a very big role in raising heroes," he added. "They are like us and their home is like any Egyptian house, they must support their children and stand by them to reach what we want."
He concluded his statements by saying “Faryal is not a hero alone, but she is a family that focused on her daughter from from an early age."
Egypt won 6 medals in the last Olympics, including one gold for Faryal Ashraf, who won the medal in karate. Ahmed Al-Jundi, the modern pentathlon player, won a silver medal. Saif Issa and Hedaya Malak won two bronzes in taekwondo, Muhammad Ibrahim "Kisho" won a bronze in wrestling, and Gianna Farouk won a bronze in Karate.
Feryal Ashraf expressed her sincere thanks and appreciation to President Sisi, stressing that he is very supportive of sports. She called on businessmen to support individual sports.
The spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports, Dr. Mohamed Fawzy, also thanked the President of Egypt for his support of the youth, saying in a statement, "He is supportive at all levels of the Egyptian sports movement, believes in sports and considers it national security."
He added that Egypt is witnessing a breakthrough in achieving results, a breakthrough at the level of the industry of sports champions, and a breakthrough in the development of the construction infrastructure, which had a very big role in Egypt hosting a large number of international and continental championships.
"In fact," he added, "Egypt has become one of the best countries in the world to host and organize global events."
Meanwhile, Dr. Mahmoud Hussein, Head of the Youth and Sports Committee in the Egyptian Parliament, told Arab News that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s announcement of naming roads after the medalists is a clear message that Egypt’s appreciation of its heroes is more valuable than the millions of dollars that some countries may try to lure Egyptian athletes with. He explained that this is an affirmation of the political leadership's support for Egyptian sports and for Egyptian athletes, and a message to every athlete that Egypt provides its athletes with all the financial and moral support it can to reach a distinguished position worthy of Egypt's history and its position among the countries of the world.
