Egypt women’s team using LATAM Cup as ‘great way to connect’ with homeland

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Danna Ramadan was headed toward her figure skating camp when she was younger and noticed a girl dressed for hockey.

“We saw this girl in a hot pink get-up walking in and I was, like, ‘wait, what? Girls play?’” Danna Ramadan said. “That was an awakening moment for me.”

Danna and her younger sister, Malac, are now opening eyes and making history as members of Egypt’s first women’s hockey team.

They’re competing at the Amerigol LATAM Cup this week at the Florida Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs and Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale, the practice facility of the 2024 Stanley Cup champions.

The team made its debut at the inaugural Dream Nations Cup, a tournament for emerging hockey nations that was played at the Rink at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in April. Egypt finished third in the tournament.

The Ramadan sisters aren’t strangers to the LATAM Cup. They’ve played on Egypt’s boys’ team at the tournament. But playing on an all-women’s team this year is something special, they said.

This year’s LATAM Cup features 52 men’s, women’s and youth teams and more than 1,100 players representing 17 countries, including Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

“It’s awesome, beyond words,” said Danna, a 17-year-old goalie from New Jersey. “Just to see girls that look like you, from the same background, same heritage. Growing up, I thought I was the only Egyptian player, besides her (Malac), obviously, but to see a whole locker room full of them is awesome.”

Malac, a 15-year-old forward, echoed her sister’s sentiment.

“It’s been amazing experience,” she said. “I (helped) out by looking on Elite Prospects and different apps just trying to search out Egyptian names, and it was really rare to find an Egyptian player because no one had under their hockey profile Egyptian identification. So, it’s definitely crazy to able to have a team with that many players.”

Helping form the women’s team was a source of cultural and parental pride for Sameh Ramadan, the team’s coach, who’s an Egypt Ice Hockey managing member in the United States and a forward for Egypt’s men’s team.

“If you look around the region, between United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria, Kenya, the list goes on and on, everyone is developing hockey, not just on the men's side, but the women's side and youth side as well,” Sameh Ramadan said.

“We started doing some local African cups and Arab cups throughout the Middle East, and year after year we're seeing women's camps, girls’ camps,” he said. “So, it's also a matter of we don't want to play catch up. We have identified a lot of probably Under-10 players around the world, including in Cairo,
and it's just growing and growing.”

Though many of Egypt’s men’s and women’s players are based in the United States, Canada and Europe, they have a strong presence in Egypt, which has small ice rinks.

Egypt Ice Hockey annually hosts Egypt Ice Hockey Cares events in Cairo. In July, the group held a day of skating, face painting and other activities for more than 200 orphans, children displaced by regional conflicts and other youth at a rink in Sun City Mall in Cairo.

“It’s honestly a great experience just being able to see all these children close to our age trying to learn hockey, trying to learn how to skate,” Malac said. “It’s a great way to connect with your homeland.”

Egypt Ice Hockey’s men’s and women’s teams are recognized by the Egyptian National Olympic Committee, which allows them to wear the Olympic rings on their jerseys.

“They’ve been a critical part of this team and growing the sport,’ said Marium Rabuck, an Egyptian forward from Westborough, Massachusetts. “Being able to wear the Olympic rings on my jersey, it’s just more than I could ask for, more than an honor.”