The Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports is undertaking a restructuring of national football with the merger of ENPPI and Al-Sharqiya, as well as Petrojet and Suez, under a model based on sports services companies.
The ministry announced on Monday the signing of two memoranda of understanding paving the way for the merger of the ENPPI and Al-Sharqiya clubs, and Petrojet and Suez, starting with the 2026-2027 season.
According to an official statement, this reform aims to optimise the valuation of the clubs’ assets, professionalise their governance, and strengthen their financial viability through the creation of two sports services companies dedicated to football management.
The two memoranda were signed in the presence of Ahmed Diab, president of the Egyptian Professional Clubs League and chairman of the Senate’s Youth and Sports Committee. The first agreement involves ENPPI and Al-Sharqiya, while the second unites Petrojet and the Suez Football
Club.
The future companies will be tasked with managing, operating, and developing football activities, with the aim of improving sporting and administrative performance while attracting more private
investment.
“The signing of these agreements is an important step towards establishing professional management within Egyptian clubs,” Ahmed Diab said. He indicated that this initiative marks the beginning of a new phase of cooperation between clubs and businesses, pending the completion of the legal procedures stipulated by Egyptian sports law for the creation of the new entities.
The ministry also unveiled the operational details of the two ventures. For the Suez-Petrojet Football Company, Petrojet will hold 51% of the capital, while the Suez Football Club will hold 49%. The
board of directors will include three representatives from Petrojet and two from the Suez Football Club, and profits will be distributed according to the same ratio.
The team will play at the New Suez Stadium and use the Suez club’s facilities for training. According to Moataz Selim, chairman of the Suez club’s interim committee, the club’s sports license will be frozen in the second division to preserve its legal identity in the event of the company’s dissolution.
A similar arrangement is planned for the merger between ENPPI and Al-Sharqiya, with ENPPI also holding 51% of the capital and Al-Sharqiya 49%. The team’s matches are expected to be played at the University of Zagazig Stadium or the Zagazig Stadium after its renovation.
Other sports will continue to operate under the Al-Sharqiya name, while a technical committee will assess the current rosters of the first team and the youth academy.
Following this restructuring, Al-Sharqiya and Suez, initially slated to play in the second division next season, will now participate in the Premier League alongside ENPPI and Petrojet. Egyptian authorities have also suggested that further mergers between grassroots clubs and corporate-owned clubs could occur in the coming months, as part of a broader strategy to modernise the economic landscape of Egyptian football.
MK/Sf/fss/as/APA