Again.. Disappearance of Egyptian "Kickboxing" Player in Italy and Authorities Investigate

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In a recurring incident, Egyptian authorities announced the disappearance of an Egyptian boxing player in Italy during his participation in the World Junior Championship held in the Italian city of Jesolo from September 18 to 27, where he won a silver medal.

The details of the incident date back to the Egyptian player Mohamed Abdel Fattah, 15 years old, taking advantage of the presence of the delegation members in the stands to support his teammate Basma Al-Arabi during the final match, where he informed his colleagues that he was going to the restroom and then completely disappeared without returning to the hotel accommodation.

The Egyptian Kickboxing Federation, headed by Mohamed Sobhi, revealed that all legal and official procedures regarding the incident have been taken, confirming that as soon as it was confirmed that the player was missing, the relevant authorities in Cairo were informed and an official report was filed with the Egyptian embassy in Italy to follow up on the situation.

The federation indicated that the player's passport is still in the possession of the head of the delegation, like his other teammates, and that his bag of clothes and personal belongings remains in his hotel room as it is.

The federation announced that it has decided to assign the legal affairs department to open an urgent investigation and complete all procedures against those found responsible for this individual act, while continuing to follow up with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the relevant authorities.

The federation confirmed that this individual act does not diminish the magnitude of the achievement that Egyptian sports accomplished in the championship, as the "Pharaohs" succeeded in winning 8 diverse medals amidst fierce competition involving players from more than 60 countries.

The incident of kickboxing player Mohamed Abdel Fattah's failure to return highlights once again a recurring phenomenon witnessed in Egyptian sports in recent years, particularly in individual sports, where wrestling has seen the largest number of these cases during international participations in various European countries.

This phenomenon became entrenched in people's minds following the incident of wrestler Ahmed Baghdoda's escape in 2023, who left the national team's camp in Tunisia heading to France, and before him, Tarek Abdel Salam who traveled to Bulgaria, obtained its nationality, and won the European gold, in addition to Mahmoud Fawzy who moved to the United States, and Mohamed Essam who also failed to return from Italy in 2022.

The reasons for the recurrence of these cases are attributed to the modest financial returns and bonuses in individual sports compared to the effort exerted, in addition to the ease of movement between transit countries and the Schengen area, and the exploitation of agents and brokers of naturalization in international championships to entice young talents with better living and sporting facilities.