Egypt's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy received Ismail El Shafei, President of the Egyptian Tennis Federation, and Ayman Azmy, the federation's Vice President, in the presence of Dr. Ahmed Youssef, CEO of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, to discuss ways to cooperate in promoting and highlighting Egypt's hosting of the under-16 junior boys' and girls' world team championships, scheduled for November at the Smash Club courts in Cairo's airport district under the patronage of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
This is the first time the championships will be held in Africa since they were launched in Japan in 1985. The two events are among the most prominent and prestigious junior team competitions in the history of tennis worldwide, having been launched under the umbrella of the International Tennis Federation in 1985.
Sherif Fathy stressed the importance of Egypt hosting this event, reflecting its position as a distinguished destination for hosting major local and international events, particularly big sporting events. He noted the ministry's keenness to promote and highlight such events, in light of its current strategy to promote the diverse types of tourism and products Egypt offers, including sports tourism.
During the meeting, the president of the Egyptian Tennis Federation gave a presentation on the championships, explaining that 16 boys' teams and 16 girls' teams from a number of countries are set to take part, with a total of 96 players among the most promising tennis talents in the world, along with the President of the International Tennis Federation and a number of ambassadors of participating countries.
The meeting also discussed ways in which the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, represented by the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, could support the event by taking part in sponsoring it to help ensure its success, including helping to welcome delegations and players on arrival at the airport and organizing tourism programs for them to get to know Egypt's diverse tourism assets and products.
