Egypt women inspired by World Cup heroes ahead of WAFCON

Egypt goalkeeper Habiba Sabry says the women's team are drawing inspiration from the men's World Cup run as they target a WAFCON breakthrough. The Egyptian women's team are looking to emulate the success of the men's team at the World Cup [Getty] Egypt goalkeeper Habiba Sabry says her team are drawing inspiration from their male counterparts' historic World Cup achievement as they prepare to end a decade-long absence from the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) next week in Morocco. Hossam Hassan's men's team enjoyed a superb World Cup run in North America, reaching the last 16 and winning a match for the first time. Sabry, fresh from being named 2024 Women's African Champions League Best Goalkeeper, believes her side can follow suit at WAFCON. "Nothing is impossible. I believe in our ability to succeed," Sabry told Reuters in a phone interview, adding that the women's team are realistic about the challenge ahead but determined to represent Egypt well. Despite Egypt's record seven AFCON titles in the men's game, the women's team have exited in the group stage in both of their previous appearances in 1998 and 2016. Egypt scraped into this year's expanded 16-team tournament after being eliminated by Ghana in qualifiers, only to benefit when CAF increased the field from 12 teams. "Our main goal is to perform well and get out of the group stage. We'll do our best," said Sabry. Egypt, coached by Mohamed Kamal, open their Group C campaign against 2022 bronze medallists Zambia on Tuesday before facing Malawi and record 10-time champions Nigeria. "We're not focusing on that," the Masar goalkeeper said of the strength of Egypt's opponents. "They're experienced teams, but we hope we can achieve something special and represent ourselves well." Women's football has long struggled for attention in Egypt, but the introduction of women's teams by Al Ahly and Zamalek for the 2024-25 season has helped raise the profile of the game, with televised derby matches attracting greater interest. The 20-year-old Sabry started playing football at age 10, training with her brother at a boys' academy in Suez. A year later, she discovered a girls' academy online and joined it before going on to play for Nuba and Suez SC, which paved the way for her move to Masar. "To be honest, I think many people are not even aware that women's football exists, even though some do follow it," she said. But Sabry hopes a strong WAFCON showing could be transformative. "I think if more people follow us (at WAFCON), it will encourage more parents to let their daughters play football and help grow interest in the women's game," Sabry said. (Reuters) Related Articles