Egypt’s best-ever World Cup run has reignited an uncomfortable debate at home: why are there no known Coptic Christian players in the national squad?
The question resurfaced after Egypt’s players were repeatedly seen performing sujood, the Islamic act of prostration, after goals and victories during the tournament.
For some fans and commentators, the scenes appeared to highlight the absence of Christian players from a squad representing a country where Copts make up around 10-15% of the population.
There are no known Coptic Christian players in the current Egyptian national team.
Mina Thabet, a researcher and expert on religious minorities in Egypt, told The New Arab that the low number of Coptic players reflects broader patterns of discrimination and marginalisation experienced by Egypt's Christian minority. 'Systemic discrimination' Thabet said the low number of Coptic players in Egyptian football is rooted in structural discrimination across the sport, including "the scouting, recruitment, and trial processes in local clubs".
While a handful of Coptic footballers have played at the highest level, their numbers remain disproportionately low compared with Egypt's Christian population.
Among the best-known Coptic Egyptian players are Hany Ramzy, who won more than 120 caps for Egypt and spent much of his club career in Europe, Ashraf Youssef, who represented Egypt at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations, and Mohsen Abdel-Massih, a former Egypt international in the 1980s.
Thabet said Christian children and young men in Egypt have been "put at a huge disadvantage and excluded because of their faith" for decades, contributing to their underrepresentation in the national team today.
"Egyptian media highlighted experiences of Christian children who faced discrimination in local trials – for example, being dismissed because of their apparent Christian names. This also cannot be separated from the conversation around sectarian violence against Christians in Egypt and its far-reaching impact on their lives, opportunities, and choices," he said.
The underrepresentation of Coptic Christians in Egyptian football remains a complex issue that includes broader structural factors, including class, geography and unequal access to football development pathways.
To ensure football better reflects Egypt's diverse society, Thabet said the Egyptian Football Association should enforce "strict anti-discrimination policies and guarantee fair treatment and equal opportunities for all Egyptians in the football industry, regardless of their religion, skin colour, or class".
He stressed, however, that the issue "has nothing to do with" the current national team, "whom we all love and are proud of for their achievements".
Around 9.5 million to 15 million Coptic Christians live in Muslim-majority Egypt and have long faced varying forms of marginalisation, underrepresentation in political and civil life, discrimination and sectarian violence.
Experiences within the community also differ significantly. Copts in urban areas such as Cairo and Alexandria generally enjoy higher levels of educational attainment, wealth and representation in white-collar professions than those living in rural Upper Egypt, where many face greater economic hardships, discrimination and fewer opportunities. A persistent issue The lack of Coptic representation in Egyptian football has been a topic of debate in Egypt for years.
Rights groups, including the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, have linked the low number of Coptic footballers to discrimination at the grassroots level. They have also pointed to reluctance among some Christian families to enrol children in football academies, or sports clubs more broadly, because of fears of harassment or tensions over religious issues.
Some activists also point to the relatively sheltered lives led by parts of the Coptic community , arguing that this leaves a smaller pool of Christian players pursuing professional football.
The issue gained wider attention in 2019, when Egypt hosted the Africa Cup of Nations . Mina Bendary, an aspiring Coptic Christian footballer, accused the Egyptian Football Association of discrimination, saying he had failed to reach the top level because of his religion.
At the time, Karam Kordy, a member of the Egyptian Football Federation, denied that discrimination existed in Egyptian football, telling Reuters that Christian players had "excelled" at the highest level and that players were not asked whether they were Muslim or Christian.