With the aim of cheering on Egypt’s football team at the World Cup 2018 games to be held in Moscow next June, the Egyptian bicyclist Muhammad Nofal headed on a journey to Russia by bicycle on Saturday, 7 April.
The ‘pedal-trip to the World Cup’ is an initiative—the first of its kind—sponsored by Egypt’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Egyptian Cycling Federation, and the Russian Cultural Centre in Cairo where the journey officially took off. In attendance were the centre’s director Aleksey Tevanyan; and Ayman Ali Hassan, board member at the Egyptian Cycling Federation.
Nofal said he aimed to cover the distance, some 5,000km, in 65 days. He has to cross a number of countries until he finally arrives at the Russian border on 31 May, and Moscow on 7 June—just a few days before the launch of the World Cup.
The bicycle journey is organised in coordination with the Egyptian Embassy in Moscow to mark the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Egypt and Russia.
Watani International
10 April 2018