Egypt consider Shawky Gharib for Olympic team role after hosting approval

The Egyptian Football Association is yet to decide who will manage the Olympic team, with current federation technical director Shawky Gharib still under consideration because of the limited time available before the next major assignment.

Egypt has received approval from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to host the next Africa Under-23 Cup of Nations, a tournament that will serve as a qualifying event for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

A source at the Egyptian Football Association told FilGoal.com: “We received CAF’s approval for Egypt to organise the next Africa Under-23 Cup of Nations, which will qualify teams for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.”

The federation is understood to be keen to appoint a head coach quickly, particularly after securing the right to stage the competition. However, no final decision has been made on the identity of the coach.

Gharib remains one of the options being considered. His experience with Egypt’s Olympic side is a significant factor as the federation weighs its decision, with the timetable for preparing the team becoming increasingly tight.

The Egyptian Football Association had previously explored the possibility of appointing Mohamed Shawky, but an agreement could not be reached because he wanted to continue in his role with ZED. The federation also considered Moatamed Gamal, although he remained with Zamalek.

The next Africa Under-23 Cup of Nations will be played in 2027 and will provide qualification for the men’s football tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

A CAF source previously told FilGoal.com: “It has been decided that Egypt will host the Africa Under-23 Cup of Nations, which will qualify teams for the Los Angeles Olympics.”

The source added: “Ghana will host the Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations, while Morocco will stage the Under-17 tournament. The three competitions will take place in 2027.”

Egypt previously hosted the edition of the Under-23 tournament that acted as the qualifying competition for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The Pharaohs won that tournament under Gharib, who is now again being considered for the position as the federation seeks to settle its plans.

The decision on the next head coach is therefore being treated as a priority by the Egyptian Football Association. The federation must prepare an Olympic squad for a home tournament while also ensuring that the team is ready to compete for qualification to Los Angeles.

No appointment has yet been confirmed, and Gharib remains among the names in contention as the federation continues its search.