As part of implementing presidential directives related to youth and sports during the Egypt Forum 2026, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has begun taking executive steps to launch the “Masar: From Talent Discovery to Life After Retirement” project. The initiative aims to establish an integrated system that ensures athletes’ financial, social, and professional stability, strengthens their sense of belonging, and protects the national investment in discovering and developing sporting talent.
The project seeks to address the gap between the achievements of Egyptian athletes and the stability and quality of life they enjoy. It introduces a comprehensive package of programs covering accessible financing, housing, employment opportunities, professional development, insurance, and medical care, ensuring continuous support throughout every stage of an athlete’s career—from talent identification and development, through competition and sporting achievements, to life after retirement.
In this context, Gohar Nabil, Minister of Youth and Sports, stated that the “Masar” project aims to provide Egyptian athletes with a secure and stable future, recognizing them as one of the most important elements of Egypt’s soft power. He emphasized that protecting national talent goes beyond identifying athletes, preparing them for competition, and helping them win championships; it also involves ensuring their stability and providing them with the means to lead a dignified life throughout their sporting careers and beyond.
The project includes the launch of a soft-financing program in cooperation with banks and national institutions, prioritizing financing that helps athletes establish sustainable sources of income. It also includes a social housing program developed jointly by the Ministries of Youth and Sports and Housing to provide distinguished athletes with housing units in their respective governorates.
Furthermore, the initiative seeks to create employment opportunities for sporting champions through the private sector, national companies, and major economic institutions. Employment opportunities will be determined according to athletes’ levels of achievement, in coordination with the relevant authorities and based on labor market needs and applicable legal frameworks.
Other key components include activating the Egyptian Sports Support Fund and introducing professional development programs in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Training Academy. These programs will cover management, sports coaching, marketing, entrepreneurship, languages, and professional skills, enhancing athletes’ ability to integrate into the labor market and build stable careers after retirement.
To strengthen protection and sustainability, the project also aims to introduce a program to protect athletes against the risks of sports injuries and sudden death during sporting activities, in cooperation with the Financial Regulatory Authority and life insurance companies. The program will provide financial protection in cases of injuries resulting in disability or premature retirement, in addition to medical care for injuries and accidents. The initiative also includes increasing the financial allocations of the Ministry of Youth and Sports to meet the needs of national teams and provide player incentives.
The Minister also noted that the “Masar” project addresses several challenges facing athletes, including unstable income, limited social protection, housing difficulties, the absence of clear career pathways after retirement, and weak links between sporting achievements and employment opportunities. It also seeks to address the fragmentation of benefits and incentives across different institutions and the need for clear, fair, and transparent criteria for distributing support, ensuring that assistance reaches sporting talents according to their needs and levels of achievement.
The project further aims to strengthen coordination between the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministries of Education and Technical Education and Higher Education and Scientific Research, sports federations, clubs, banks, housing authorities, companies, and other relevant institutions. It also seeks to establish a unified system for tracking athletes’ journeys and strengthen early intervention to identify the needs of emerging talents and address challenges that may push them to emigrate or change their sporting nationality, thereby safeguarding the returns on national investment in discovering and developing athletes.
Gohar Nabil stated that, through this integrated system, the “Masar” project seeks to shift from a model of support tied primarily to championships and medals toward a sustainable athlete-care model that extends across all stages of an athlete’s life and links sporting achievement with social stability, economic opportunities, and professional prospects. This approach aims to strengthen Egyptian sports’ ability to retain its talent and benefit from athletes’ capabilities and achievements.
🖋️Source: The official website of Al-Gomhuria newspaper
