They were the first African team to reach the semi-finals of a World Championship, for years they were clearly the number one African team – and thanks to the successful work with young talents a new generation of players, bearers of hope, grows up in Egypt. At the 1999 WCh in their home country, Egypt had drawn attention to themselves when they ranked 7th. In 2001 at the WCh in France, the world star at that time, Hussain Zaky, and his team mates, took it to the next level and reached the semi-finals, but only finished 4th in the end. Zaky stands for the golden era of the Egyptians, in which they won the African Championship five times. At the last continental championships, however, other teams were better; in 2012 and 2014 they even missed the final – but they qualified for the WCh as third ranked team. The Egyptians continue to set a course as they successfully encourage young talents – and in 2010 they achieved a sensational result as they won against the odds-on favourite France at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. These junior players have been little by little integrated into the men’s team – and at the second Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in August, Egypt wants to defend their title. At the 2013 WCh Egypt reached the eighth-finals – pushed by the promising back-court player Ali Zein, who has excellent throwing and jumping skills.