Egypt hope to reap rich rewards

Egypt are hoping to reap the rewards when they host the World Amateur Snooker Championships for the first time in Cairo from October 19-November 2.

Mohammed Ibrahim, head of the Egyptian Federation for Billiards and Snooker and President of the African Billiards and Snooker Federation, is confident that his country will benefit allround by staging such a high-profile event.

"It is a big honour to host such a major championships which will doubtless have a great impact on the sport in Egypt," he said during the third Emarat international snooker tournament in Dubai.

"Snooker is very popular and we see a lot of potential in Egypt. But as is the case with most developing countries you need a catalyst to thrust it to a different level. We hope that the presence of some of the world's best amateurs will encourage more players to take to the game.

"Personally, I think snooker is going to become one of the biggest sports in the world in a couple of years," Ibrahim asserted.

Egypt are the first African and Arab country to host a major snooker event like the World Champi-onships which is likely to attract over 100 entries from 50 countries.

"Although Egypt is in Africa, we are more closely linked to Asia than to Europe and together we can work towards developing the sport further in the future," he said.

"We are happy to have received an invitation from the UAE Billiards & Snooker Federation to compete in the Emarat International Tournament and we are looking forward to reciprocating by inviting them to one of our major events."

Ibrahim, who is also a board member of the International Billiards & Snooker Federation sees himself as an active promoter of the sport.

"We need to have more top level competitions in Asia, the GCC and Africa. More snooker activity is a must at this crucial stage in the sport's development," he says. "There are too few noteworthy tournaments which isn't fair on the players who are committed to the game."

Despite snooker's leisurely development in the region Ibrahim foresees a bright future.

"Like soccer and golf, snooker has a promising future in Asia," he predicts. "The future of sport is in Asia as there is so much interest from sports lovers, media and commercial companies.
"Asia will soon pass Europe as a major snooker address. It's just a matter of time."

Snooker makes it's debut at the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea later this month and will be introduced as a demonstration sport when China host the Olympic Games in 2008.

"The pressure is on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take notice of snooker and we have convinced them to include it for the China Games.," said Ibrahim. "We see this as being a stepping stone into the big time."

The Egyptian Billiards & Snooker Federation will also host the European Carom Championships, a variation of snooker played with four balls on a pocket-less snooker table, on the unique setting of Margwish Island in the seaside town of Hurgadha.

"The event will be played in an all-glass arena, something that resembles a squash court, which allows allround viewing for spectators and perfect, peaceful playing conditions for the players," said Ibrahim.

"It's something new that we're trying and it's also very futuristic. That's how we visualise the sport will be played in the near future."