Egypt Under-17s complete final training session before Switzerland Friendship Tournament

Egypt’s Under-17 team, made up of players born in 2009, have completed their preparations for the Friendship International Tournament in Switzerland.

The squad held its final training session on Monday morning at the National Teams Centre, bringing to an end a training camp that began on 7 September. The camp included a number of friendly matches as the team prepared for the international competition.

All 22 players selected for the tournament took part in the final session after the squad’s medical staff confirmed that they were fit and ready to compete. Amr Taha, head of the medical team, gave the coaching staff an update on the condition of every player.

The team will leave for Switzerland on Tuesday morning, with all travel and accommodation arrangements completed by Ayman Hafez, the team’s administrative director.

Egypt are scheduled to return to Cairo on 4 October after playing four matches in the tournament. Their opponents will be South Korea, England and Colombia, with a fourth fixture to be played in the final stage of the competition.

Walid Darwish, a board member of the Egyptian Football Association and supervisor of the team, said the association was committed to giving the players the strongest possible preparation.

“The board of the Egyptian Football Association, headed by Hany Abou Rida, is keen to provide every opportunity for this generation to succeed,” Darwish said.

He added that the association was supporting the team by organising training camps and arranging international matches against teams representing different footballing schools.

The tournament in Switzerland will be followed by the Gulf Cup for Youth, which is due to take place in the middle of October. The two competitions are intended to provide the players with the best possible competitive experience before their participation in the World Cup.