The Chaos of the Transfer Market in Egyptian Football… Inflated Prices, Impulsive Decisions, and Ongoing Drain

By: Dr. Hamada El-Antably

With the launch of every new football season in Egypt, the same scene repeats: controversial deals, astronomical figures, and fierce competition among top clubs amidst an almost total absence of planning and oversight. The Egyptian transfer market has become a mirror of broader chaos within the football system, where technical vision is absent, and emotional and media-driven calculations override the sporting and economic interests of the clubs.

A Market Without Standards… and Prices Beyond Logic

It has become customary to witness local player transfers at exaggerated prices reaching tens of millions of pounds, despite some players’ performances falling short of the required level. These deals do not reflect the technical value of the players as much as they reflect market chaos and the absence of sound technical and economic standards in pricing—especially with the intervention of intermediaries or player agents and media bidding that fuels competition among clubs at the expense of logic and professionalism.

Foreign Players… High Cost and Poor Return

One of the most prominent aspects of this chaos relates to foreign players, who are often signed without sufficient technical study or adherence to specific criteria that account for team needs and the nature of the Egyptian league. In many cases, we find foreign players signed for exorbitant sums—including transfer fees and massive salaries—who then fail to deliver the expected performance, leaving after a short period either through contract termination or on a free transfer without compensation, thus becoming a financial burden on the club’s budget.

Here, I point to the massive volume of spending by clubs in recent years on foreign deals that yielded no real athletic return, which calls for a comprehensive review of the professional player recruitment policy, subjecting it to precise technical and economic standards.

Poor Financial Resource Management… Wholesale Disputes

The crisis is not limited to failed deals alone; it extends to poor management of financial resources within clubs. It is noticeable that a number of agencies spend lavishly during transfer windows without a balanced budget or sustainable funding sources. This financial waste ultimately leads to a failure in meeting contractual obligations, particularly toward coaches and foreign players, making these clubs perpetually vulnerable to international sanctions.

Some Egyptian clubs have turned into permanent guests before dispute committees at the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) due to lawsuits filed against them resulting from delayed payments or contractual breaches. These disputes are not limited to financial fines; they can sometimes reach the extent of point deductions or registration bans, exacerbating these clubs’ technical and administrative crises.

Absence of Technical Planning… Decisions Under Pressure

Most Egyptian clubs handle the transfer file through reactions rather than a long-term strategic vision. Often, acquisitions come as a result of fan pressures or in response to a fleeting defeat, instead of being part of an integrated plan to build a strong team. Player selection is sometimes entrusted to non-specialists or carried out under the influence of personal desires without clear reliance on professional technical committees.

The Football Association… The Biggest Absentee

Although organizing the transfer market is a core responsibility of the Egyptian Football Association, its role in this file is virtually non-existent. There are no effective regulations ensuring transparency, no regulatory mechanism governing a financial cap on deals or salaries, and no precise player classification system. This regulatory vacuum encourages randomness, worsens disparities between clubs, and increases legal disputes.

Disastrous Results Repeating Every Season

The inevitable consequence repeating every year and every transfer window (summer and winter) is a major financial drain on clubs—especially those relying on unstable resources, a long list of teams—alongside a rise in the volume of legal disputes, whether before local grievance committees or international bodies like FIFA and CAS. Unfortunately, this also leads to a decline in opportunities for young players to emerge due to the reliance on ready-made signings. This translates into a loss of competitive fairness between leading clubs and the rest of the teams, which reflects poorly on the standing of Egyptian football at the continental and international levels.

What is the Path to Reform?

To address this recurring chaos, serious organizational and technical measures must be adopted to restore discipline to the transfer market in Egyptian football. Foremost among these measures is the necessity of issuing a unified regulation governing contracting processes, including a financial cap on salaries and deals to achieve financial balance among clubs. Additionally, the role of technical committees within clubs must be activated to serve as the specialized body evaluating team needs and technical selections for new deals. It is also important to subject foreign player acquisitions to precise technical and physical standards that respect the nature of the Egyptian league and its competitive levels.

In the same context, the need arises to establish a strict regulatory system for the activity of player agents to curb their random interventions and ensure their interests align with the game’s welfare. Clubs should also be mandated to full transparency in announcing financial and technical contract details, boosting credibility and reducing disputes.

Finally, sustainable reform cannot be achieved without directing resources toward developing youth academies as the true investment in the game’s future, rather than excessive spending on players who add virtually nothing technically.

Conclusion

The transfer market in Egypt is in dire need of a genuine reorganization originating from the will of both the Association and the clubs alike. Random acquisitions, poor financial management, and a lack of oversight will lead to nothing but further technical and financial decline. If we look forward to a truly professional league, we must begin by reforming this market from its roots before the chaos hardens into a permanent, unfixable reality.

By: Dr. Hamada El-Antably