The Egyptian Wrestling Federation announced the disappearance of 19-year-old Egyptian youth national team wrestler “Ziad Haggag” from the Egyptian delegation’s place of residence in Slovakia following the conclusion of the World Championships, in an incident that has brought similar cases in Egyptian sports in recent years back into focus, particularly in wrestling.
Ziad Haggag Disappears as Officials Launch Search
The incident began when members of the Egyptian national team were preparing to attend a training session under the supervision of the head coach. They asked “Ziad Haggag” to accompany them to the team’s training session, but the wrestler told his teammates that he would join them a few minutes later.
However, the athlete never appeared at training. He subsequently turned off his phone completely and left the team’s hotel on Sunday, with delegation members unable to contact him or determine his whereabouts.
As soon as his disappearance was discovered, “Ahmed Rashad,” treasurer of the Egyptian Wrestling Federation and head of the national team delegation in Slovakia, took action and notified the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Egyptian Embassy, and the relevant authorities of the incident. This was done to initiate the necessary procedures, continue the search, and determine the circumstances surrounding the wrestler’s departure from the delegation’s accommodation.
According to the available information, the athlete’s father, who lives in Assiut Governorate in Upper Egypt, had visited his son at the Maadi Olympic Center before the national team delegation traveled to Slovakia. He had also signed an officially notarized declaration accepting legal responsibility for ensuring his son’s return to Egypt after the conclusion of his sporting participation.
However, the young wrestler held a Schengen visa allowing entry into European Union countries, which enabled him to leave the delegation’s accommodation without team officials knowing his destination or being able to contact him afterward.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Youth and Sports announced in an official statement that it was following the case involving the departure of a national wrestling team athlete from the Egyptian delegation in Slovakia. The ministry instructed the Egyptian Wrestling Federation to take the necessary legal measures, launch an investigation into the incident, and prepare a detailed report on the circumstances surrounding it.
The ministry stressed that representing national teams is both an honor and a responsibility, emphasizing that it would not tolerate violations of rules and regulations or refrain from holding accountable anyone proven to have been negligent or in violation of the applicable regulations. At the same time, it stressed the importance of protecting athletes’ rights and handling the case within the legal framework.
Previous Cases Bring Wrestlers’ Disappearances Back Into Focus
The case of “Ziad Haggag” has brought to mind a series of similar incidents involving Egyptian sports over the past several years, particularly in wrestling, where several athletes left national team delegations without coordinating with the relevant sports federations.
One of the most prominent and widely covered cases was that of “Ahmed Fouad Baghdouda,” an Egyptian Greco-Roman wrestling national team athlete. After winning the silver medal at the African Championships held in Tunisia in May 2023, the athlete left the delegation and traveled to France, amid reports at the time of financial pressures and the limited value of the rewards he had received.
In 2018, Greco-Roman wrestling champion “Mahmoud Fawzi” announced that he had left Egypt for the United States following disputes with officials of the Egyptian Wrestling Federation. He later decided to represent the U.S. national team in international competitions.
Earlier, in 2017, wrestler “Mohamed Essam Fathy” disappeared from the accommodation of the Egyptian wrestling team delegation while participating in the World Youth Championships in Finland. It later emerged that he had traveled to a European country in search of professional or residency opportunities.
The recurrence of such incidents prompted the Ministry of Youth and Sports to tighten travel procedures for sports delegations, including requiring parents to sign official undertakings and notarized financial penalty clauses aimed at ensuring athletes’ return to Egypt after completing their international participation.
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Author: Counselor Faisal Al-Mutairi
Publication Date: August 25, 2026
Last Updated: August 2026
