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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 November 1999 Issue No. 454 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 November 1999 Issue No. 454
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters An ancestral legacy
By Abeer Anwar
The head of the International Field Hockey Federation (FIH), Juan Angel Calzado, believes Egypt can host the World Cup in the sport and has high praise for the current standard of Egyptian players.
Karim Alami about to return the ball en route to winning the Challenger(photo: Amr Gamal)
"The team is getting better and better year after year," said Calzado in an interview with the Weekly during his current visit to Egypt. "The team is improving especially after increasing the number of international matches and raising the quality of play by meeting professional teams," Calzado, 62, added. "I think they will be a strong competitor in the future." He described Egypt's Magdi Abdullah as a very good player, "proving that Egypt is progressing in the game because two of its players were selected to the world team."
The Spaniard put the talent down to our ancestors. "This sport is your heritage, handed down from your predecessors, the pharaohs. That is why in only two years, two great international hockey pitches were constructed, in Smoha [in Alexandria] and at Cairo Stadium."
Calzado said a technical committee headed by himself visited Egypt to inspect the preparations, the pitch and the stadium when Egypt bid to host the Mediterranean championship. "When I first came there was no pitch. Only some cement, construction equipment and a piece of flat land. That's why I was astonished when I saw this excellent pitch today. It is beautiful and meets international standards. We will use it again some time in the future."
Calzado said he was very pleased when he received the bid from the Egyptian Hockey Federation to organise the Mediterranean championship in Alexandria. "We thought it would be a good place to meet and celebrate our diamond jubilee because it is the place where hockey used to be played 2,000 years before Christ."
He said he is certain that Egypt's organisation of the qualifying tournament for the men's World Cup will be excellent.
On the chances of Egypt hosting a World Cup championship, Calzado said, "Egypt can do it in the very near future but we can't specify the year."
"The FIH is doing its best to spread field hockey throughout the world," Calzado said. "But this will take some time." He cited beach volleyball as an example to be emulated. "When it started it did not attract many people but gradually it spread and became heavily sponsored. It now brings in a lot more money from advertisements and sponsors than traditional, indoor volleyball."
Calzado, born in Barcelona, played 52 international matches as a midfielder on Spain's national hockey team. After retiring, he went on to administrative work as an economist and held a number of positions in Spain's Hockey Federation. In 1975, he joined the FIH, becoming its head in 1995.
The hockey veteran was not only impressed with the level of play in Egypt, but also with the country itself. He called Alexandria "a fantastic place near the sea. It is also a historical place with a long history. That's why I am enjoying my stay here."
