Aboul Kheir believes Egypt will be among the title contenders in Tunisia
The experienced coach has again assumed the coaching reins of his country's U16 boys team as they head to the FIBA U16 African Championship in Monastir, Tunisia (July 13-23).
Cairo (Egypt) - Amr Aboul Kheir is a coach who is well-versed in success with junior teams in Egypt.
Last year he led his country's U18 men's team to cup glory at the FIBA U18 African Championship in Madagascar.
Aboul Kheir's success with his U18 team meant they stamped their ticket for this year's FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary (24 June - 2 July).
Aboul Kheir will again lead another age group team to a continental championship.
The experienced coach has again assumed the coaching reins of his country's U16 boys team as they head to the FIBA U16 African Championship in Monastir, Tunisia (July 13-23).
Egypt goes to the tournament as defending champions after winning the title in 2021 on home soil.
The question is, can they replicate the feats of the team that won it two years ago?
Aboul kheir says the circumstances of that title win were different.
"For the last two to three years, I have been in charge of the under-16 and 18 teams in continental tournaments and the World Cups. A few things have changed. In the last two or three years, fewer teams participated because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other countries did not want to host," said Aboul Kheir, who spoke to FIBA.basketball on Tuesday.
The Egyptian coach says this year's tournament will present its challenge because of the academic schedule of the boys.
"In previous years, the tournament took place in the middle of August, but this year it will be in the middle of July. I say this because the different age groups have their various exams. So, we have a problem in how we prepare the team. It's a discussion that will be had at the federation level," said Aboul Kheir, who led Egypt to the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.
Amr Aboul Kheir -2013 FIBA Afrobasket Final Round (CIV)
"I have coached at various national team levels, and I now want to continue this success with this group of under-16 players."
Aboul Kheir identified a pool for Egypt's title defence in July.
"In the last two to three months, we have had 40 players, 20 in Cairo and 20 in Alexandria. The number has gotten less. We want to have 18 players that will join the team for our closed camp at the end of May," said Aboul Kheir.
Asked about his expectation of his team, Aboul Kheir believes Egypt will be among the contenders for the title.
"I think more teams will participate in the tournament in Tunisia and what we had in Cairo. It will not be easy, but I think Egypt, Mali, Tunisia and Algeria will be the teams to watch out for," concluded Aboul Kheir.
The boy's tournament winner in Tunisia will qualify for the 2024 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in Turkey.
FIBA