With the inaugural IFAF Africa Flag 2025 continental championship in Cairo a little more than two weeks away, IFAF spoke to the defensive coordinator of the Egypt women’s team Omar Ashraf about his host team’s historic debut.

Please explain your background in flag football. How did you become interested in the sport?

“Back in my university days, I participated in some activation events for energy drink companies, one of which was the international American football match between Morocco and Egypt. I really loved it and was surprised to know that there are American football teams in Egypt. I got hooked on the sport from that point on and have stayed connected to it ever since. Even after retiring as a player, I continued my passion by becoming a coach, and I'm still coaching today.”

How have you identified players for the team (club matches, tryouts perhaps) and how was that process?

“It was a challenging process since there are many talented players, but we primarily focused on last season's statistics and made our selections based on that, along with a few players we believe will seamlessly integrate into our calling system.”

Where have players come from, both geographically in Egypt and in terms of other sports?

“I believe a lot of the players are from Cairo and Alexandria. There are plenty of sports around here like track and field, soccer, handball, volleyball, and basketball. We even have a former MMA fighter!”

What are the main challenges with creating a completely new national team in a short space of time?

“There shouldn't be any issues with fitness or athleticism since they just wrapped up their league. However, building chemistry among the players and getting used to a new calling system will take some time and effort.”

You must be proud to coach in the first-ever African championships in your home nation, but does that also create pressure to be successful, as the home team?

“Wow, there's a lot of pressure! Our country is hosting the tournament. I really want to make this a memorable moment in history and I’m confident that I have a great group of players who can make this happen.”

All the national teams playing at the tournament will be competing for the first time. How do you prepare to play against unknown opponents?

“We're going to look for tapes from teams in those countries to see their strategies, but we definitely need to adapt a lot on game days. That's what we should focus on—having different game plans for various systems.”

Do you know what you expect your strengths to be - perhaps the passing game or a strong defense? What is your coaching philosophy?

“Our greatest asset is our well-rounded team, which effectively balances defense and offense, allowing us to support each other and compensate for any mistakes.”

What is the longer-term goal for the team?

“The IFAF World Championships and LA28 of course, that’s our focus right now.”