The Gezira Sporting Club ( ar, نادى الجزيرة الرياضى,

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

:''nādī al-ǧazyrah al-reyādī'') is the largest multi-sport facility in Egypt. It was founded in 1882 and was originally called Khedivial Sporting Club. It is located on the island of

Zamalek Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east ...

in Cairo.

History

The grounds of the Gezira Sporting Club were initially carved out of the ''Khedivial Botanical Gardens'', and as a result acacias and gardens decorate the area. After the land had been formally leased to the British military command in 1882, club rules were licensed and the land was divided into several recreational playing grounds. At first, the club was for the exclusive use of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. Membership was restricted to applicants elected by the committee, on the recommendation of two members, although British army

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

were automatically enrolled. There were about 750 members. Guests could visit the club whenever accompanied by those members by purchasing Day Passes for . In 1906, the club members asked the

Egyptian government The politics of Egypt are based on republicanism, with a semi-presidential system of government. The current political system was established following the 2013 Egyptian military coup d'état, and the takeover of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. ...

for ownership, but their request was refused. Instead, they were granted a 60-year lease. The exclusive character of the club continued until after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In January 1952, the club was

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

and became a public club. By this point, most members of the Gezira Sporting Club were Egyptians, but the club's members were from society's elite. As a result of nationalization, the ethos and structure of the club were to be altered during the Nasser regime. Half of its eighteen-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

were given over to a youth club built by the

on the club premises (making it a nine-hole course). Much of what was deemed as a traditionally

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

asset was nationalized. During

Anwar Al Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

's presidency, a new elevated highway (the

6th October Bridge The 6th October Bridge ( ar, كوبري 6 أكتوبر, ) is an elevated highway in central Cairo, Egypt. The bridge and causeway crosses the Nile twice from the west bank suburbs, east through Gezira Island to Downtown Cairo, and on to connect ...

) was built over the remaining nine-hole golf course and six-furlong

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

causing the size of the club to further erode. Despite suffering vandalism, the Gezira Sporting Club still offers most of the sports and games practiced by its founders:

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the Wor ...

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. As of 2012, membership was estimated to consist of 43,000 families.

Basketball

Golf

; About the course : 18 holes (played on 9 fairways), Par 70, , rating 68, three tees. ; Who can play : Annual members The 125-year-old par 70

was the first in Egypt.

Tennis

Since 1907, Gezira Sporting Club has been the official home of Egypt's

lawn tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cove ...

with open tournaments and championships regularly held on its

clay court A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate depending on the tournament. ...

s. From 1925, international celebrities took part in these widely attended events as it staged the International Championships of Egypt. Despite the launch of the Egyptian Lawn Tennis Association Championship in 1934, Gezira Sporting Club continued to offer its two cups: * The Doherty: awarded for the

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

. * The Slazenger: awarded for the doubles.

Swimming

The Gezira swimming team was founded in the early 20th century.

Current sports

There are currently around forty sports played in Gezira Sporting Club. Some are:

Other branch

Like other large clubs in Egypt, the Gezira Sporting Club has built another branch. The location is in the

6th of October City 6th of October ( ar, السادس من أكتوبر, Al Sādis Min Uktōber; arz, ستة اكتوبر, Setta Oktōbar) is a city in Giza Governorate, a satellite town and part of the urban area of Cairo, Egypt, 32 km (20 miles) outside the ...

. The club had signed a contract for of land and construction has started. The club in 6 October has been operational since February 2020 with more developments to follow/

References

{{reflist Clubs and societies in Egypt Gezira Island Sports clubs established in 1882 Organisations based in Cairo Sports clubs in Cairo Sports venues in Cairo Water polo clubs in Egypt 1882 establishments in Egypt