FIDE Council decided to suspend the membership of the Egyptian Chess Federation with immediate effect and revoked their right to organize any FIDE-rated tournaments and delegate any representatives to FIDE events. “Starting from March 08, 2024, all Egyptian players may only play in all tournaments under the FIDE flag“, reads FIDE announcement.
The decision came after the troublesome FIDE World Cadet Championship 2024 which took place from 14-27 October in Egypt. Due to the military tensions in neighboring Israel and Palestine which escalated after the October 7 terroristic attack by Hamas, a large number of federations and individuals refused to participate in the World Cadet Championship concerned about their safety. At least 172 persons from 12 different federations cancelled their participation seeking a refund from the Egyptian Chess Federation. However, the Egyptian Chess Federation failed to complete a refund and didn’t start paying off the debt.
The National Olympic Committee of Egypt sent a letter to FIDE stating that all debts would be paid off, adding that the procedure of changing the management of the Egyptian Chess Federation was initiated. Taking into account the letter from National Olympic Committee of Egypt, FIDE decided to allow players from Egypt to participate in the African Games which are taking place from 8-23 March in Ghana.
FIDE reminds they are ready to remove restrictions as soon as the fulfillment of commitments starts and hopes it will be done in the nearest future.
Read the complete statement here.
