On the Edge: Zamalek's Handball Future in the Balance as Finances Stumble

Financial crossroads threaten Zamalek Handball

Zamalek is facing one of the club's most challenging periods in recent memory as the board, led by Hussein Labib, weighs withdrawing from the Africa Men's Handball Championship set to take place soon in Morocco due to a severe financial crisis.

Sources inside the White Castle say the next hours will be decisive, with the board expected to issue a final decision on whether to participate. The discussion is already running hot behind the scenes.

Despite a split within the council, the prevailing view is to pull out of the continental competition, a move seen as a reflection of the tight finances afflicting the club.

The decision, however harsh, comes in an economic environment that leaves little room for error. It is said that the costs of participation, including travel, lodging, bonuses, and player dues, exceed 10 million Egyptian pounds, a sum the treasury cannot guarantee at this moment.

There is a sense that the priority now is to address unresolved football issues, such as back pay to foreign coaches, so as to avoid new FIFA sanctions that could prevent the club from registering players.

As a result, management seems inclined to direct any available liquidity toward saving the football team, even if that comes at the expense of other sports that have long symbolized the club, including handball.

Handball represents one of Zamalek’s proudest chapters, a sport that has yielded dozens of continental and domestic titles and helped define the club’s identity in Africa. Contemplating withdrawal would strike a heavy blow to its reputation.

Withdrawal, if formalized, would signal that the crisis extends beyond football and touches the rest of the club's sports programs.

The inability to fund the handball trip, once a source of pride for fans, underscores a broader collapse of financial and administrative order that has left many departments waiting for payments.

It is not only a budget problem but also a technical setback, with the handball squad enduring a difficult period after the departure of the French coach Franck Maurice following a disappointing showing at the world club championship held in Egypt.

In the Super Globe tournament, the team suffered a heavy defeat to Barcelona, a result that laid bare a gap in technical preparation and athletic depth ahead of big continental tests.

The exit of Maurice just weeks before the African Championship left the team without an external coach, raising the risk that the continental campaign could be approached underprepared and without clear leadership on the bench.

There are fears of continental sanctions should the withdrawal become official; rules imply fines and penalties for any club that withdraws after the draw has taken place, a scenario that would complicate an already precarious position for the board.

Nevertheless, internal talks suggest informal efforts to soften penalties or reach a friendly resolution, though the stance of the authorities remains uncertain and the situation remains delicate.

The football department now dominates the club’s agenda, with the rest of the sports programs bearing the cost of the broader financial squeeze.

In recent months, the club has struggled to maintain payments to basketball, volleyball, and handball squads, fueling frustration among many who see the football team's needs as overshadowing other athletic achievements.

Some observers argue that there is a deep governance issue at play, with resource allocation and decision making appearing inadequate for a club of Zamalek’s size and history on both regional and continental stages.

In response to what is described as a structural problem, the board has called an extraordinary general assembly for Tuesday, October 21, to align the club’s bylaws with the 2017 Sports Law amendments, as updated by 2025 regulations, and to pave the way for any governance changes the members approve.

To make the meeting valid, at least 4,000 eligible members must attend, and the changes will be adopted only by a majority of the valid votes cast.

Punchline 1: When your wallet fumbles, the whistle blows a little louder but nobody hears it over the cash register’s sighs.

Punchline 2: Zamalek might win the governance game by drafting budgets on napkins, but the real trophy is finding a coin that actually exists in the treasury.