The History and Development of Golf Croquet in Egypt.

1. Golf Croquet was first introduced in Egypt through British colonialism. It was spread in rest-houses and private properties belonging to prominent British officials; it was then introduced to clubs.

2. During the twentieth century (1920–1929) the sport existed in rest-houses of the irrigation authority, public works and public health administrations, as well as those of Banks and cotton ginning mills. It also existed in the courtyards of prominent British officials where games were played amongst family members and friends.

3. In the Thirties (1930-1939), the sport was introduced into schools and clubs. There was a Croquet court – made of compressed sand – at the "Al-Raml Primary School" in Alexandria, in 1932, located at the Bakos area. The game was, at that time, played the same as it is nowadays except that, in case of a draw 6/6, the center pole should be hit (instead of entering hoop No 13, as we do now). The court's size, the distribution of hoops and center pole were the same as in the present.

In the town of Zakazik, the sport was introduced, at the sporting club in the year 1935/1936, by the British manager of Barclays Bank's Zakazik branch.

4. In the Forties (1940-1949), the Egyptian Pioneers of Golf Croquet emerged. In 1941 some friends, namely General/ Mohamed Abdelhalim El-Daly (Chief Police Superintendent of Minya, at that time), Counselor/ Mohamed Sadek Fahmy (Head-Judge of the Minya Court) and Counselor/ Ahmed Esmat (Right-Judge of the Minya Court) had noticed a deserted Croquet court with incomplete playing tools. At their own expenses, they restored the Court ground and imported the playing tools from "Lillywhite" store in London; thus, the credit goes to these three friends, in promoting the sport in the town Minya; at a time where men only were allowed to play the game.     

In 1944, Counselor/ Mohamed Sadek Mahdy moved to the town of "Shebeen El-Kaum", where he introduced Golf Croquet. He started by having a piece of land reformed, at the Shebeen El-Kaum Club, and a playing court established. He, then, imported the necessary playing tools, from England, at his own expense.

Counselor/ Ahmed Esmat, also, established a Croquet court in his farm at "Mahallet Ellaban" village (Bassioon district), at about 10 Kms from the town of Kafr El-Zayatt.

General/ Abdelhalim Eh-Daly, as well, established a Croquet court his house in "Maadi" (South of Cairo). He, furthermore in 1956, had part of the Bowling playing platforms (originally 5 Bowling courts established in 1930), of the Maadi Club, converted into a Croquet court.

Some players and fans were making Croquet courts in their own courtyards. For instance, in 1946, Michel Avierino (owner, at that time, of the famous "Avierino" department store) made a grass croquet playing court at his house, in Heliopolis, where games took place with guest families.

5. In the Fifties (1950-1959) the sport got spread in major clubs by converting mini-golf and bowling courts into Croquet playing grounds.

As a result to the July 1952 Revolution and the tripartite aggression in 1956, a majority of resident foreigners left the country and, therefore, the sport got spread among Egyptians who filled the clubs and regular tournaments were organized between them.

In the early Fifties, Croquet balls and mallets were purchased from local sport-shops, such as "Robert Hughes" at Kasr-El-Nil Street, in Cairo, who were importing them from England. However, in the late Fifties, mallets were locally made and, at that time, the price of a mallet was 1.5 Egyptian Pounds.

6. In the Sixties (1960-1969), the sport got spread and the number of players grew considerably. Tournaments were organized between clubs, and trophies were offered by prominent personalities, such as the "Harkany Cup" offered by Mr. Naguib El-Harkany for games between Al-Guezira Club and the Alexandria Sporting Club, the "Ratl Cup" for games between Al-Guezira Club and Heliopolis Club and the "Dr Ramadan Cup" offered by Dr. Mahmoud Ramadan for games between the Alexandria Sporting Club and Heliopolis Club.

In 1967, a great need was felt to establish a Federation that would bring all clubs, having Croquet courts, under one umbrella. This federation would also aim at legitimating the sport, raising its technical and administrative levels and organizing tournaments between the clubs.

Tthe Egyptian Croquet Federation was established and registered on the 16th of February 1967.

Terms of Service-Privacy Statement- Data Protection Policy-Copyright