“The future is ours.” 

With this bold statement, Egypt centre back and captain Ehsan Abdelnaeim walked away from the super flash interview after her team’s 20:29 defeat against Austria in the opening match of Group E at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship. 

Rather than sounding discouraged, Abdelnaeim’s words captured the spirit of a team stepping onto the world stage for the very first time, determined to turn a debut into the beginning of a long-term story.

Egypt’s clash with Austria was the group opener, but also marked a huge milestone in the African nation’s history:  their maiden appearance at the IHF Women’s World Championship, underlining once again how deeply handball resonates in the handball-mad country. Their presence in Germany/Netherlands 2025 is the latest milestone in a wider rise of Egyptian handball, fuelled by strong youth programmes and passionate home support.

Fittingly for a side looking ahead, Egypt are also the youngest team in the competition, with an average age of just 22.8 years. Only three players are 30 or older: goalkeeper Mai Gomaa, right wing Amina Hagag and captain Abdelnaeim, who celebrated her 39th birthday on the eve of Egypt’s historic debut. Surrounding this experienced core is a vibrant group of 10 Under‑21 talents, several of whom already shone at the 2022 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship.

Six players from that youth squad, which reached the quarter-finals and finished seventh, are now part of the senior roster, bringing a huge ambition to the biggest stage. For them, Germany/Netherlands 2025 is a launchpad – a chance to measure themselves against the world’s best while building the foundations for Egypt’s future at elite level. 

And if Abdelnaeim’s post-match message is anything to go by, this debut is only the beginning of a journey the team firmly believes will justify her promise: the future really is theirs.

 

“I am like a second coach, an assistant for our head coach, in the team, on the court. It’s a bit of feeling like I am a second mother to them, I like it a lot, I like it very much. We always speak together, it’s a great feeling for me also, therefore I am very excited and very honoured to be here,” says Abdelnaeim.

Alongside goalkeeper Gomaa, who is playing at Polish club PR Koszalin, Abdelnaeim is the only player currently featuring in a foreign league, plying her trade at French club OGC Nice.

And her experience in this current Egypt squad is unparalleled. The centre back was a true superstar in Egypt, winning 14 titles with club side Al-Ahly before she decided to come to Europe to enhance her skills.

After a trial which did not materialise with German club Lüneburg, Abdelnaeim went to France, where she spent five years in the lower leagues at Aunis Handball. But her excellent performances did not go unnoticed and she was snapped up by OGC Nice, where she started shining.

Arguably the best season in her career was 2021/22, when Nice finished seventh, behind powerhouses like Metz Handball and Brest Bretagne Handball, but Abdelnaeim was the top scorer of the league, with 139 leagues, six more than the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship top goal scorer, Swedish right wing Nathalie Hagman.

She was also the MVP of the competition, earning 36% of the votes casted, leading the standings ahead of legendary France goalkeeper Cléopâtre Darleux and another shot stopper, Camille Depuiset.

Therefore, Egypt needed her experience and skill and Abdelnaeim promptly answered, with her appearance at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship being the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.

“It is the first time in history to play in the World Championship, so it's an amazing feeling. It is a very young team we came here with, but we had a good outing in the first match, therefore I am very happy,” said Egypt’s centre back.

“It was a lifelong dream to be here, so just being here, just representing Egypt… wow, what an amazing feeling.”

 

Egypt finished third at their maiden appearance at the CAHB African Women’s Handball Championship, in 1974. They did not make the podium since that moment, with a fifth place as their best result in 1989, before they came fourth last year, sealing their spot at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship.

While the men’s team has been consistenly between the top eight in the world for more than five years now, the women’s side is just emerging and Germany/Netherlands 2025 is just a huge stepping stone for Egypt, which are trying to improve on a year-by-year basis.

Luck did not come in droves for them in the draw, as they ended up in a group alongside co-hosts Netherlands, as well as Argentina and Austria, but the experience gained by the players is invaluable.

“Our federation is working for that. These matches are very important for us, we are already looking forward for our continental championship, so I try to share the players my experience and create a great future for us,” says Abdelnaeim.

And, as she said, the future might be theirs if they continue the same way, with a big onus now on women’s handball, as her former club, Al Ahly, just finished second at the 2025 CAHB Women's African Club Championship.

Egypt have two more matches in the preliminary round, against Argentina and the Netherlands. But history has already been made. Whatever comes from this moment on is a bonus. And while Abdelnaeim might not be on the court in the future, she surely inspired her teammates to be better and aim higher.