Full mark

By Inas Mazhar

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It was my first assignment in Tunisia but I hope not the last. I returned almost three weeks ago after covering the World Handball Championships last month. I have fond memories of the championship and of the hosts, organisers, and the country and its people.

It was very cold but the generous hospitality of Tunisians made us warm.

The ability of the Tunisians to organise such an event was impressive. When I met Hassan Mustafa, the president of the International Handball Federation, before we went to Tunisia, he said Tunisia, only the second African and Arab country to host the event, will deliver the best ever world handball championship. I couldn't judge say but the Tunisians had organised two major events: the Mediterranean Games in 2001 and the African Nations Cup in 2004.

While packing for my journey, I thought about my laptop. I asked myself whether I would be able to use it in Tunisia. I guessed I wouldn't, not in the stadiums or the press conferences. There would be no place for it among more than 1,000 media representatives. So I left it behind.

I'm still ruing that decision. Tunisia is clean and modern and I owe it an apology for underestimating its facilities.

Everything was taken care of from the time we were received at the airport. Our papers were processed smoothly and I knew from the smile of the hostesses who donned fashionable red suits that this is really going to be the best handball championship.

When I stepped into the 3,500-seat hall at Sousse, the third biggest city in Tunisia, I was astonished. It was world class. It had everything. Hundreds of PCs in the press rooms and in the halls and hundreds of plugs for laptops and the Internet. The Internet was linked for free and I envied my colleagues who had brought their laptops. Thank God, I could at least use the PC.

All other venues were the same. The newly-built Rades Hall, worth $50 million, was a gift from Tunisian President Zine Al- Abidine Bin Ali. The 14,500-seat hall was built especially for the event. And the hosts made it easy for everyone -- media people, officials, guests and spectators.

The Tunisians did Africans and Arabs proud by such outstanding organisation. Everything went like clockwork. There wasn't a single hitch. I felt that everyone cared about the championship and about the image of Tunisia, not only the organisers, but the public as well. Once it was known you were in Tunisia for the championship, you became a VIP. You received special treatment if you were Egyptian.

Tunisians love Egyptians and the feeling is mutual. They enthusiastically supported the Egyptians in Sousse, and were saddened when Egypt failed to qualify for the second round. Tunisia was on the other hand brilliant, finishing fourth, and is sure to be the African team of the future.

I have to admit it -- this World Championship was the best, better than Japan, Australia and those in Europe.

I hope that we in Egypt will learn from Tunisia in time for the 2006 African Nations Cup which we are hosting. It's only 10 months away and I wonder how we'll do organisation-wise.

I hope we don't lose too much time because of the change of youth ministers, and I hope we work seriously from now towards ensuring a successful ANC.

When Belgium came to town last month for a friendly against Egypt, the players were shocked by the Arab Contractors Stadium -- its rundown changing rooms and toilets in particular. The Belgians were so upset they would have cancelled the game except for a contract that forced them to play. But the Belgian media broadcast the stadium scenes back home for all to see, and wondered aloud how Egypt will host the championship, and why it dared apply to host the 2010 World Cup. Do our officials have answers?