ENPPI president rejects ‘Eastern Company Enppi’ club status after Al Ahly defeat

ENPPI president Ayman El-Sherei says there is no officially established club called Eastern Company Enppi, insisting the entity is instead a football-focused sports investment company.

His comments came after Eastern Company Enppi lost 3-2 to Al Ahly in their opening Egyptian Premier League match.

Speaking to On Sport, El-Sherei said: “There is no such thing as Eastern Company Enppi club. Every club has its general assembly and its assets, and that is an established matter. However, the law allows the creation of a sports investment company, and anyone can be involved in it.

“At present, I am the chairman of Eastern Company Enppi, which will be established next week. ENPPI’s management is currently running the entity in accordance with the memorandum of understanding, and there will be a board of directors and a chairman in the next period.”

The clarification separates the football operation from the formal structure of a traditional club, which El-Sherei said must have its own general assembly and assets. He said the current arrangement is being managed by ENPPI while the new company’s administrative structure is put in place.

Despite the defeat, El-Sherei said he was pleased with the performance against Al Ahly, describing progress as something that would develop over time.

“I am very happy with today’s match despite the defeat, because success for us is a cumulative process,” he said. “ENPPI is supplying the Egyptian league with a new type of coaching staff, in its entirety.”

El-Sherei also highlighted the financial contrast between the two teams. He described Al Ahly as the strongest team in Africa and said the Cairo club had spent between 700m and 800m Egyptian pounds on major signings.

By comparison, he said ENPPI had sold players for more than 100m Egyptian pounds and had built its reinforcements around young players.

“Today we were facing the strongest team in Africa, a team that spent 700m or 800m Egyptian pounds to sign very strong players, while we sold for more than 100m Egyptian pounds and all our additions were young players,” El-Sherei said.

“Nevertheless, if it had not been for the missed penalty, we would have been leading 3-0 at half-time.”

Al Ahly ultimately secured victory in the opening fixture, but El-Sherei argued that his side’s display showed the potential of its approach, particularly given the team’s lack of experience and the quality of the opposition.

He added that ENPPI had been forced to cope with five injuries to first-team players during the match, yet still produced what he regarded as a strong performance.

“We played today while suffering from five injuries to key players and still produced that level of quality,” he said. “We are trying to build a system in which any 11 players who take part can always perform in the same way.”

The result leaves the administrative identity of Eastern Company Enppi awaiting the planned creation of the sports investment company, while the football side begins its Egyptian Premier League campaign under ENPPI’s current management.