The Egyptian Muaythai Federation has held its first official training camp at Cairo International Stadium to prepare for the International Federation of Muaythai Associations -IFMA- Youth World Championships. More than 500 members of the youth and junior national teams began the process that will take the Egyptian squad to Ancient Olympia, Greece, where the competition will be held in November.
The camp was not open to every practitioner. The federation reserved participation for athletes with proven results, including national medallists and young competitors who have already reached international and world podiums. Bringing more than 500 athletes together within the same structure allowed the federation to assess a significant part of the talent available to Egypt before defining the next stages of preparation.
Egyptian federation coordinates its national teams from Cairo
Rifaat Gaber, technical director of the national teams, led the training camp. His role is to establish common preparation criteria, observe the athletes within the same working environment and set the level required to represent the country. The camp also allows the federation to coordinate its youth and junior categories through a shared pathway towards the World Championships.
Egyptian Muaythai Federation president Mohammed Ibrahim placed the camp within a broader development project. “What we are building in Egypt is bigger than any one camp or one competition,” he said. “We are watching an entire generation fall in love with Muaythai, from the grassroots up, and that is the greatest strength any federation can have.”
Egypt expands its male and female Muaythai base
The structure brings boys and girls into the same federation pathway, from the earliest development stages through to the national teams. IFMA has particularly highlighted the consistent presence of Egyptian female athletes at its international championships. “Egypt has always brought powerful representation, especially through our female athletes, to the IFMA World Championships, and this camp is where that strength is forged and multiplied,” Ibrahim explained.
The Egyptian federation is recognised by the Egyptian Sporting Authority and the Egyptian Olympic Committee. That recognition places the camp within the country’s sporting system and connects talent identification, technical preparation and international participation through a defined federation pathway. The training camp in Cairo provides the first common stage of that process for the categories seeking to compete in Greece.
Ancient Olympia becomes the international target
The choice of Ancient Olympia gives the Youth World Championships an institutional dimension. The Greek city is associated with the origins of the ancient Olympic Games and will welcome a new generation of Muaythai athletes. For Egypt, the competition will provide an international setting for the work carried out with its youth and junior national teams since this first training camp.
The preparations also coincide with an important year for African youth sport through the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, although the Muaythai World Championships are a separate competition. The Egyptian federation remains focused on Olympia, with more than 500 athletes involved at the beginning of a process built on national and international results.
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