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Who controls Egypt’s sports scene?

The rising monopoly of the Egyptian state-owned advertising and sports marketing agency Presentation Sports over soccer broadcasting rights is raising controversy.
Soccer Football - African Champions League Group Stage Draw - Nile Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Cairo, Egypt - December 28, 2018  The CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup trophies on display before the draw  REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RC1DC2A7D400
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CAIRO — The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced Jan. 8 that Egypt will host, from June 15 to July 13, the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) soccer tournament. This was seen as a victory for the Egyptian advertising and sports marketing agency Presentation Sports. According to previous statements by Hani Abu Rida, president of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), Presentation Sports is a state-owned company.

Presentation Sports started operating in 2010 in the field of advertising and entered the sports field in 2015. It now has exclusive media sponsorship rights of the EFA, the Egyptian national soccer team, the Egyptian Premier League and Egyptian Cup, and the majority of Egyptian clubs, most notably Al-Ahly and Zamalek. In 2016, the Egyptian Media Group (EMG) owned by Ahmed Abu Hashima, a business tycoon and very close ally of the regime of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, acquired 51% of Presentation Sports. Abu Hashima later sold his stake in EMG in 2017.

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