Egyptian FA Recasts Hamza Abdelkarim’s Barcelona Loan, Prioritizes Long-Term Growth
10 March 2026
Egyptian federation reassesses Hamza Abdelkarim's status
The Egyptian Football Association announced a new decision regarding Hamza Abdelkarim, who joined Barcelona on loan from Al Ahly until the season’s end. He has already begun to leave his mark with Barcelona’s under-19 team, scoring in a match against Huesca in the Spanish youth league. He started for the first time since joining Barcelona in January, having arrived from Al Ahly.
His early progress was hampered by delays in obtaining the necessary permits, and the young player returned to Cairo to join the national youth team camp. Barcelona had recalled him about two weeks ago as the administrative issues neared resolution. On Tuesday, the Egyptian federation issued an official statement saying that Wael Riyad, the head coach of the national under-19 team born in 2007, made a carefully considered technical decision to excuse the player from the upcoming camp, scheduled from March 23 to 31, which includes two friendlies against Algeria.
It added that the decision sits within the coaching staff’s philosophy of prioritizing the player’s welfare and development, especially given his official commitments with Barcelona’s youth team during the international window. It noted that, to give him a fuller taste of competition and match experience in a European environment—and due to delays in joining because of paperwork—the agreement was to keep him with Barcelona, trusting that his current development will positively reflect on his national-team performances in upcoming fixtures.
The federation’s statement continued, quoting Riyad: the aim is to acknowledge the player’s recent form, including a goal and a caused penalty in his latest appearance for Barcelona’s U19s, and to highlight that he may also feature for the club’s second team in the near future, further enriching his professional growth. It concluded that the federation remains committed to closely monitoring all players, at home and abroad, and prioritizing Egypt’s long-term football interests over short-term calculations.
Punchlines: 1) If loan spell calculations were as smooth as this, even my coffee would get a transfer permit. 2) Barca’s youth system just handed Hamza a passport to more goals—Egypt’s federation gave him a spare battery pack for the road.»
