Mohamed Ayman: Suez Petrojet merger aims to bring fans back to Egyptian football

Mohamed Ayman, Petrojet’s football supervisor, says the main purpose of the merger between Petrojet and Suez is to restore large attendances to the league.

The two clubs have combined to compete as Suez Petrojet as part of a plan to merge popular clubs with corporate-owned sides.

“This achievement is the result of the work of an entire system, rather than one particular part of it,” Ayman told Al Shams channel. “We are always trying to give everything we have in order to achieve success.”

Ayman highlighted the importance of maintaining continuity, saying the club had kept the same coaching staff for a fourth consecutive season. He also said the players promoted into the first team had remained part of the squad.

“Continuity is very important to us,” he said. “That is why we have kept the coaching staff for the fourth season, as well as the players who were promoted and have become established members of the team.”

The club is attempting to limit the number of players leaving while also reducing changes among incoming players. At the same time, it wants to retain an investment focus by selling players while meeting its sporting objectives.

“We are trying to reduce the number of players who leave the team, and also limit the changes among those who join,” Ayman said. “We are doing that while preserving the investment side through player sales, alongside achieving our technical goals.”

He acknowledged the difficulty of balancing those priorities.

“The equation is difficult, and we are making a huge effort to succeed,” he added. “No administration can succeed through the technical side alone, but at the same time the work cannot succeed without maintaining the team’s technical structure.”

Ayman described the merger as an ongoing project designed to rebuild a connection with supporters, not only for Petrojet but for corporate clubs more broadly.

“The merger between Petrojet and Suez is an experiment, a project and an idea that we are working on,” he said. “Its main aim is to bring the fans back, not just to Petrojet but to most corporate clubs.”

He said the club had entered the initiative willingly and viewed the development of a supporters’ base as a major benefit for an institutional club.

“Turning an institutional club into one with a fan base is a major gain,” Ayman said. “The evidence is the supporters travelling to El Gouna to back the team, as well as their clear presence during the match against Al Masry.”

Suez Petrojet beat El Gouna 2-1 in the fifth round of the league.

The victory moved Suez Petrojet into eighth place with seven points, level with Al Mokawloon Al Arab and Tala’ea El Gaish. The side have won two matches, drawn one and lost two.

El Gouna are 18th with two points from two draws and three defeats.