The Commercial International Bank (CIB) and IEvents–specialised in event management–have announced the details of the 2019-2020 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship scheduled for 23 October to the 1 November in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza, with a PSA Men’s Platinum event due to be simultaneously staged.
The total value of the PSA Women’s World Championship’s prizes reached $430,000, exceeding the men’s championship prizes for the first time. The tournament will witness the participation of 64 players representing 25 countries, including Egypt; England; the Netherlands; France; Malaysia; India; Pakistan; Sweden; New Zealand; Finland; Mexico; Canada; Colombia; Germany; Spain; China; the United States; South Africa; Australia; Latvia; the Philippines; Wales; Peru; Scotland, and Belgium.
Meanwhile, the total value of the PSA Men’s Platinum’s prizes amounted to $185,000, to be one of the largest eight platinum tournaments in the world. A total of 48 players from 25 countries will join the event.
The CIB has been sponsoring the Egyptian Squash Association (ESA) for seven years. The bank supports ten players, including Raneem El Welily; Nour El Tayeb; Nouran Gohar; Salma Hany; Hania Al Hamami; Ali Farag; Tarek Momen; Karim Abdel Gawad; Mohamed Abu Al-Ghar, and Marwan El Shorbagy.
Chairperson of IEvents, Amr Mansi, said the cooperation between his company and the ESA dates back to 2010, noting that IEvents has partaken in establishing and organising major tournaments in Egypt.
CIB Chief Executive and board member, Hussein Abaza, said: “We are thrilled to be sponsoring an event of this magnitude and importance, which bookends a significant track record the CIB has built throughout the years to bring squash to the forefront. This partnership with the PSA will not only propel engagement with the sport in the local arena but underscores our commitment to the exceptionally talented players who deserve a dedicated, engaged partner that wholeheartedly believes in their success.”
In addition to their sponsorship of the 2019-2020 PSA Women’s World Championship, the CIB have also committed to becoming title sponsors of future tournaments in Egypt in both 2020 and 2021.
Assem Khalifa, head of the ESA, said he was happy with the return of the tournament to Egypt, stressing that it will be a great championship. The tournament’s draw was attended by football stars Hazem Emam and Mido, actor Ahmed Hatem, and former squash player Karim Darwish.
Egyptian squash occupies a significant position in the world, where the top 10 rankings in September included five Egyptian players, namely Ali Farag (1st); Mohamed Shorbagy (2nd); Tarek Moamen (3rd); Karim Abdel Gawad (4th), and Mohamed Abu Al-Ghar (7th).
For women, the list of top 10 players in the world includes four Egyptians, namely Raneem El Welily (1st); Nour El Sherbini (2nd); Nouran Gohar (4th), and Nour El Tayeb (5th).
Khalifa told Daily News Egypt earlier, that the ESA has nothing to do with the private sponsorship contracts between players and companies, but it is involved in the contracts between players and their clubs. The ESA has a limited role when it comes to top-rank players, but it focuses on juniors.
