If Mostafa Lotfy’s feet did his talking on pitches and courts, his mind is doing it on sand. A former 11-a-side footballer who also scored Egypt’s first goal at the FIFA Futsal World Cup™ –against hosts and heavyweights Spain no less – he is now working wonders as his country’s beach soccer coach.

Lotfy masterminded Egypt conquering the Arab Beach Soccer Cup and the Casablanca Beach Soccer Cup, and qualified them for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup™ for the first time. He chats to FIFA about their group-stage opponents at UAE 2024, target for the tournament, and which Egyptians to look out for in Dubai.

How did you get started as a beach soccer coach? Did working in the sport give you an extra appreciation for it?
It all started for me when I was appointed as the general manager of the Egypt national team in 2015, where I worked alongside the former technical director, Ahmed Abdelrazek, for four years. I learned a lot about beach soccer from him and really benefited from his experience. I also took time to read about the game to learn more and develop my understanding. I instantly took a liking to the sport because it’s so entertaining, whether you’re on or off the pitch, and the matches are so exciting and passionately contested. Then, not wanting to leave anything to chance, I took the steps to develop as a coach, focusing on filling in any gaps in my skillset by watching matches and participating in tournaments.

You were named among the 40 best coaches in the world by Beach Soccer Worldwide in 2021, and among the 20 best last year. Are you satisfied with what you’ve achieved so far, or do you have greater ambitions still?
Of course, making those lists is great for me, the national team and Egypt, and it’s great motivation to keep developing, work even harder, make it to the top three and then be considered the very best. Obviously everyone has ambitions and dreams they want to achieve, and one of my dreams is to be the best coach in the world. Why not? As long as you have the ability and self-confidence, alongside a solid plan, you can achieve what you want. My ambition is to not only make the shortlist but to become the best in the world, and that will only happen if I put in the effort, which I plan to do.