Egypt beat New Zealand 3-1 at the 2026 World Cup to record the team’s first World Cup victory in 92 years, a moment the coach, Hossam Hassan, marked with a thank-you note to the president. Abdel Fatah al-Sisi had sent a congratulatory message to the team after the win, and Hassan called that message “a medal on his chest” with the “effect of magic” before praising the “unprecedented development” of Egyptian sport under al-Sisi’s leadership.
The Pharaohs ended a 92-year wait, qualified for this tournament unbeaten, and reached the World Cup knockout stage. They also play inside a football economy run, end to end, by firms owned by the Egyptian military and the General Intelligence Service: the shirts, the tickets, the broadcasts, and the stadiums all route through entities that answer to the same security state.
The Win Became a Tribute to the President
Egypt’s 3-1 win over New Zealand at the 2026 World Cup ended the longest active drought in the tournament. Egypt had played at World Cups since 1934 without ever winning one. Goals from Mohamed Salah and Trezeguet in the second half sealed the result. Hassan, 59, is a three-time Africa Cup of Nations winner as a striker and one of Egypt’s most decorated players.
Hassan did not lead with the result. He led with the president’s message, calling it “a medal on his chest” with the “effect of magic” and praising the “unprecedented development” of Egyptian sport under al-Sisi’s leadership. Al-Sisi is a military general who has overseen a sweeping crackdown on all forms of dissent since seizing power in 2013, and under his rule the security apparatus has infiltrated every aspect of civilian life.
The Foreign-Coach Ban That Set the Stage
The political furniture inside which Hassan now operates was set years before his appointment. After a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations campaign in 2019, al-Sisi told his sports minister, Ashraf Sobhy, that Egypt should stop hiring foreign coaches. “Why don’t we have confidence in Egyptian coaches?” he asked, before laughing and remarking that “the result is the same” anyway.
When Rui Vitória was dismissed after a poor Afcon performance in early 2024, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) chose a domestic coach. Hassan, who reportedly declined to negotiate a penalty clause for his own sacking, was hired. The choice mapped the 2019 directive onto the hiring process, as set out in Hassan’s 2024 appointment after Rui Vitória’s dismissal.
His contract expired in February, Hassan said during the tournament, but he has been leading the team as “national duty” rather than in a professional capacity.
After Egypt secured World Cup qualification, Hassan said “success begins from the top of the pyramid and the officials of the state.” The reward he wanted most, he added, was “the chance to meet the president.” The man in charge of the country, he said, “shouldered a great burden that no one else could bear.”
What the Government Expects From Pundits
A year after Hassan’s appointment, the state’s protection of the national team project was laid out explicitly. During a Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Unilever Afcon Trophy reception in late 2025, ministry, EFA and CAF officials sat alongside former players, pundits, content creators and journalists.
Have their backs the same way we all have our military and political leadership’s backs.
Ashraf Sobhy, Egypt’s sports minister, at a CAF and Unilever Afcon Trophy reception in late 2025.
Sports minister Ashraf Sobhy used his address to urge the room not to criticise the national team’s staff. “Have their backs the same way we all have our military and political leadership’s backs,” he said.
The remarks did not come out of nowhere. In June 2025, Hassan and his twin brother Ibrahim, the team director, posted a statement marking the anniversary of the 30 June protests that preceded the military’s 2013 rise to power. They called the protests “a symbol of dignity” of the Egyptian people, in Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan’s June 2025 statement on the 30 June revolution. Hassan has also moved against critics directly. Breaking with convention, he appointed a cassation court lawyer as his official legal spokesperson, granting him full authority “to take all necessary legal measures to pursue those who spread rumours, as well as anyone who seeks to sow discord in the football community.”
From the Dugout to the Courtroom
That authority has now been used twice.
- February 2026: Hassan’s lawyer filed a formal complaint with the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR), often described as the state’s chief censor, against a TV presenter who, on his personal Facebook page, had criticised the Hassan twins’ management of the national team. The complaint alleged the posts “affected the national team’s management” and urged the regulator to “take legal action in accordance with the law.” The SCMR complaints committee summoned the presenter’s representative for questioning. No outcome has been disclosed.
- After the Belgium match: The twins’ lawyer filed another complaint to the same regulator, demanding a ban on Reda Abdel Aal, a former Egypt player and current pundit. The complaint accused Abdel Aal of trying to “disturb the security and peace of the country” and of interfering with Hassan’s “official national mission.” No decision has been announced.
For context, the scene at Seattle Stadium before Egypt’s match with Belgium drew 66,775 fans. None of the legal complaints filed by Hassan’s lawyer has produced a public ruling.
Who Owns Egyptian Football
Hassan’s actions align with the reality of who now owns Egyptian football. Over the past decade, its infrastructure has been systematically absorbed by entities linked to the military and intelligence services.
The shirt sponsor on the Pharaohs’ jersey is the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD), a military-owned enterprise established in 2016. The only way to buy a match ticket is through an app called Tazkarti, which holds a biometric Fan ID for every stadium-goer in the country. Tazkarti is a subsidiary of United Media Services (UMS), a sprawling media conglomerate owned by Egypt’s General Intelligence Service.
| Entity | What it controls in football | Parent / ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) | Shirt sponsor on the Pharaohs’ jersey; owner and manager of Egypt’s World Cup fan zone | Egyptian military, established 2016 |
| Tazkarti | Only legal channel to buy match tickets; holds a biometric Fan ID for every stadium-goer | Subsidiary of United Media Services |
| United Media Services (UMS) | Conglomerate that owns Tazkarti, Sports United, Estadat and most Egyptian television channels | Owned by Egypt’s General Intelligence Service |
| Sports United | TV channels showing domestic league, cups and national team friendlies; the only exclusive website allowed to livestream matches; commercial rights for clubs; in-stadium advertising; organiser of the World Cup fan zone | Subsidiary of United Media Services |
| Estadat | Stadium and venue management; “owns the rights to manage the largest number of stadiums and sports bodies” in Egypt, per UMS’s own description | Subsidiary of United Media Services |
Estadat’s role is set out in UMS’s own description of Estadat’s stadium and venue management work. The broader pattern of intelligence control over Egyptian airwaves is mapped in an analysis of United Media Services’ grip on Egyptian television.
The State Watches the Fan
The architecture extends to the viewing experience at home. The Egyptian public is encouraged to attend the World Cup “Fan Zone,” entirely owned and managed by ACUD, organised by Sports United and accessible only by registering through Tazkarti.
A Tazkarti registration means a biometric Fan ID, tied to a single identity and stored by a subsidiary of the intelligence service. For fans inside Egypt, every match ticket, every broadcast, every stadium they enter, and every shirt on the team’s back passes through one military or intelligence entity before they get to the game.
The run that put Egypt at the 2026 World Cup was, in parallel, an unbeaten Afcon qualifying run under Hassan. The qualifying record does not change who owns the infrastructure underneath it. UMS, the parent company running that infrastructure, owns more than 90 percent of Egyptian television channels, according to reporting on state media control.
The companies behind those points of contact do not stop at football. United Media Services was founded by Egyptian intelligence in 2016 and took control of Channel 1 and the Egyptian Satellite Channel in 2020. It owns more than 90 percent of all television channels in Egypt and over 40 companies in various media fields, producing almost all TV serials, films and programmes for local channels. The mission, in the words of that reporting, is delivering the Egyptian government’s narrative to viewers and ensuring that this narrative will prevail over all others.
The Trophy Inside the Apparatus
Egypt’s 92-year wait for a World Cup victory is over. The Pharaohs qualified unbeaten with 26 points from a possible 30 in their African group, won their first-ever World Cup match against New Zealand, and reached the knockout stage. Egypt face Australia in the last 32 in Dallas. The team trained in Spokane before group-stage matches in Seattle, and their tournament has played out in front of 66,775 fans packed into Seattle Stadium for the Belgium fixture.
The next match will be played on a shirt sponsored by a military developer, broadcast by an intelligence-owned channel, and watched by fans whose entry pass is a biometric record held by a state-security subsidiary. Hassan’s “national duty” and the “unprecedented development” he praised are the same arrangement.
