Stories of buying companies’ clubs, from Dina Farms to Pyramids

Daily News Egypt
4 Min Read

The purchase of Assiouty and turning it into Pyramids was not the first. It was preceded by several experiments, but lacked the controversy.

The beginning was in 1994/1995 when Etihad Othman appeared and fell in the following season and then returned again in the following season. In 1997/1998, the name was changed to Dina Farms, which is located on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road. The team did not last long, falling in 2000/2001 season and never returned again to the A League.

The second experiment took place in 2000/2001 after the Ahmed Bahgat Group bought the Metals Company’s club founded in 1994 and joined League A in 1998/1999. After acquiring the club, he changed the name to Goldi SC. In a similar situation to Dina Farms, Goldi SC did not last long and fell in 2002/2003. The team is still on the pitch now, but competing in the third division.

In 2008, Wadi Degla was playing in the second league and attempted a similar move, after sponsoring the Ibshway Fayoum SC playing in the first division. But the attempts to change the name to Wadi Degla Ibshway failed, being a governmental club.

Among the different experiments: Misr Lel-Makkasa SC bought the Faraeen Company owned by Huwaidi family, which was playing in the fourth division in 1999. Then in 2008, the club changed to Misr Lel-Makkasa SC.

The team managed to climb to the A League in 2010. It accomplished great results placing itself among the best. Two seasons ago, it was ranked second, following Al Ahly club.

Nogoom FC also qualified to the A League this season. The beginning was a partner club with Pepsi, organising junior’s competitions, which gave rise to several stars, spearheaded by Mohamed Salah.

Mohab El-Tawila, who is in charge of marketing in investment in Nogoom FC, told Daily News Egypt that 15 years ago, Mohamed El-Tawila decided to organize a competition for schools with Pepsi. “The goal was to serve the community and become a professional club. It was very successful,” he added.

In 2007, the club wanted to become more independent and formed a team to participate in the fourth division league, moving up to the first league.

Recently, Al Assiouty Sport was highlighted. The club is owned by businessman Mohamed Al Assiouty who owns a recruitment company in Austria.  The club is based on 50 feddans with several pitches, a hotel, and a restaurant.

Al Assiouty Sport worked as a talent scout, managing to form a strong team and climb to League A in 2014/2015, but lasting only one season. It has now returned stronger than ever with huge investments, having sold Mohamed Antar to Zamalek for EGP 15m.

The surprise came after when Mahmoud Al Assiouty received a phone call from Rakan AlHarthy, CEO of Saudi Sela Sport, to reach an agreement and sell the company for $5m without the resort, which will be rented for $500,000. The name of the club was then changed to Pyramids.

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