Amr Shaheen
Amr Shaheen
Amr Shaheen (Arabic: عمرو شاهين) is an Egyptian football administrator, broadcaster, journalist, and sports executive. Over a career spanning more than two decades, he has held senior roles at several of the most prominent institutions in world football, including the Confederation of African Football (CAF), FIFA, the BBC, and Al Ahly Sporting Club. Established a reputation as a professional executive football and sports expert with high values and integrity.
Educated at the Faculty of Physical Education in Egypt and holding a diploma in Sports Management from Switzerland, Shaheen has contributed to the sport across multiple disciplines — as a commentator, media officer, continental administrator, and club executive.
Early Career Before joining CAF officially, Shaheen was outsourced at the age of 20 to assist in preparing the Technical Study Group (TSG) official report for the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, while still a university student. His contribution was recognised, and he was subsequently included in the official TSG editorial team for the 1998 AFCON in Burkina Faso — an experience he has described as the beginning of his career in football.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) Technical Study Group (1998–1999) Shaheen joined CAF formally in 1998 as TSG Administrative Officer, working under the head of the division, Mohamed Abdu Saleh El Wahsh, a former coach of Al Ahly and the Egypt national team. In this role, he produced and edited the official technical report for CAF football events, analysed statistics for more than 300 CAF and FIFA matches, and introduced a formal statistical analysis system to CAF — the first time such a system had been implemented in the organisation’s history. Media Officer (1999–2002) Moving into CAF’s communications division, Shaheen served as the organisation’s Media Officer and official spokesperson. He managed press releases, official announcements, the CAF website and news bulletin, and raised the professional standards of CAF press conferences. He also introduced public relations firms to support CAF media events, a practice that was new to the Egyptian and African sporting market at the time. Competition Services Manager (2004–2007) In this role, Shaheen liaised with national associations and clubs across Africa to inspect stadium infrastructure and ensure compliance with CAF Executive Committee safety and facilities standards, directly influencing hosting conditions for continental competitions. Commercial Director (2006–2018) Shaheen’s longest and most consequential tenure at CAF was as Commercial Director, a position he held for twelve years. During this period, CAF’s commercial revenues grew substantially, driven by a series of major partnerships and agreements that he oversaw or initiated. Key commercial milestones during his tenure include: • Sponsorship agreements with MTN, PepsiCo, Samsung, and Toyota • The Adidas partnership of 2008, which included the introduction of the first official African football — the Wawa Aba — under an eight-year agreement valued at a reported €24 million, a record for CAF that has not been matched. • The organisation of the Meridian Cup with UEFA • The coordination of the Al Ahly vs Ajax Gala Match in Cairo in 2003, Egypt Vs Sweden • The Lagardère Sports agreement of 2016, a commercial rights deal with the French sports marketing group that, following more than two years of negotiations, represented CAF’s largest ever commercial agreement, reported to guarantee revenues of $1 billion USD He also represented FIFA in various capacities across more than five international competitions, serving as New Media Officer, Marketing Venue Manager, and Assistant/General Coordinator in over 50 matches. He played a key role in launching the official FIFA Arabic digital platform in 2005. Departure from CAF (2018) In April 2017, multiple Egyptian and African media outlets reported that Shaheen was a leading candidate to become CAF General Secretary following the election of Ahmad Ahmad as CAF President, which ended Issa Hayatou’s 30-year tenure. Shaheen did not take the position. He departed CAF in 2018, concluding a twenty-year association with the organisation. He has cited ethical concerns related to the conduct of the incoming administration as a factor in his decision, though he has not made detailed public statements on the matter.
Media Career Alongside his administrative work, Shaheen built a parallel career as a football broadcaster and journalist. He worked with BBC Sport, contributing to its African football coverage and producing bylined articles for the BBC Sport website. He also contributed to several football publications including the London-based African Soccer, the French magazine Afrique Football, and the UAE-based Super magazine. His broadcasting career began in 1998 with Egypt’s Nile Sports channel and expanded significantly during the 2000s. He was part of the commentary team for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, and went on to commentate more than 600 football matches across the English Premier League, Ligue 1, Serie A, Eredivisie, the Egyptian league, and international football for broadcasters including Dream TV and Orbit Showtime between 1998 and 2008. Notable moments in his broadcasting career include: • His commentary on the Egypt vs Cameroon 2006 World Cup qualifier, widely regarded as among his most prominent pieces of work • Anchoring a special AFCON 2010 coverage programme in Angola sponsored by Coca-Cola and broadcast across more than 30 countries, featuring African football legends including Mahmoud El Khatib, Daniel Amokachi, and Kalusha Bwalya • An exclusive interview with Mustafa Kamel Mansour, the legendary Egyptian goalkeeper who became the oldest surviving African player from the 1934 FIFA World Cup squad, published on BBC Sport In later years, he continued his media activities with regional broadcasters and Al Ahly Tv channel before deciding to quit his media career in 2010 to focus on his executive roles.
Al Ahly Sporting Club In April 2021, Shaheen was appointed CEO of Al Ahly Football Company, the commercial subsidiary of Al Ahly Sporting Club — one of the most decorated clubs in African football history and a record twelve-time CAF Champions League winner. He worked alongside chairman Yasseen Mansour, board member and former FIFA Competitions Director Mustapha Fahmy, and former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Hossam Ghali. During his tenure, the company secured a four-year kit sponsorship deal with Adidas valued at more than $8 million USD, and restructured a commercial agreement with United Sports — a government-affiliated company — that significantly increased the club’s revenues and was labeled as a game changer. Negotiations were also initiated with a range of regional and international commercial partners. In 2022, Shaheen became a prominent public figure during Al Ahly’s dispute with CAF over the venue for the CAF Champions League final. Al Ahly argued that holding the final at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca — the home ground of their opponents, Wydad Casablanca — constituted an unfair competitive disadvantage. Shaheen was appointed to the club’s crisis management committee alongside club president Mahmoud El Khatib. The club appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport; the appeal was dismissed. Wydad won the final 2–0. In the aftermath, Shaheen stated publicly: “Sport is about fairness, equality and fair play — this is our objective and it should be CAF’s too.” Shaheen departed the role in September 2022, following the resignation of the Football Company’s board after approximately 16 months in office. Neither Shaheen nor his fellow board members made public statements explaining the reasons for their resignation, despite significant media interest in Egypt and across Africa
Later Career Since 2023, Shaheen has continued working in football in a consultancy capacity, advising on scouting and player analysis, tournament organisation, and the evaluation of potential acquisitions of European football clubs by Middle Eastern investor groups. He has spoken at international sports management and football education conferences and contributed to coaching, scouting education programmes, sports commercial and Sports management.
Personal Life Shaheen is known for keeping his personal life largely private. He has lived at various points in Egypt, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and briefly in Dubai. He has two children.
References 1. Amr Shaheen interview — CAF Marketing & TV Director, Orange AFCON, Equatorial Guinea 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRjLQt6xr6A 2. Reuters — AFCON 2015 venue report. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/sports/-2015-idUSKBN0IN1TE/ 3. Shaheen commentary — Egypt vs Cameroon, 2006 World Cup qualifier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgSpHPCchKI 4. Shaheen interview with Mustafa Kamel Mansour — BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/low/history/newsid_1962000/1962689.stm 5. BBC Sport — African football article byline. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/2149333.stm 6. BBC Sport — African football article byline. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/3794935.stm 7. BBC Sport — African football article byline. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/4226740.stm 8. Al Ahly statement on CAF Champions League final venue dispute, 2022. Soccer Laduma. https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/news/articles/international/categories/african-football/al-ahly-release-another-statement-on-caf-champions-league-final/717559 9. Amr shaheen nomination for CAF Général Secretary position in 2017
10. CAF sings $1 Billions deal in 2015
https://www.reuters.com/article/sports/sportfive-signs-long-term-rights-deal-with-caf-idUSKBN0OT0A9/
11. CAF extend adidas deal
https://www.modernghana.com/news/169738/caf-extends-partnership-deal-with-adidas.html
External Links • Amr Shaheen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amr-shaheen-64403092/ • Amr Shaheen on X (Twitter): https://x.com/amrshaheen22
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