Egypt\u2019s Gouna Film Festival founder Naguib Sawiris announced that he will be naming a street in Gouna after Mohamed Salah, to show appreciation for the national football treasure.<\/p>\n
In a red carpet interview at the festival\u2019s opening, Naguib told CBC Egypt that he made the decision after his brother, Samih Sawaris, suggested the pair name a street after veteran actress Yosra.<\/p>\n
Naguib instead suggested naming one after Salah, \u201cbecause our Egyptian icons have to appreciated. It\u2019s an opportunity that we have plenty of unnamed streets here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Naguib added that he and his brother, ranked by Forbes as the two richest people in Egypt (2017), first considered the idea thanks to one of Naguib\u2019s Twitter fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cMohamed Salah took Egypt\u2019s name to a whole new level abroad, so one of my Twitter followers suggested we name a street after him. I told Samih, he encouraged the idea, so we took Salah\u2019s permission to do it, and he said it would be his honor. But I told him the honor was all ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
The telecommunications mogul and Free Egyptians Party founder also decided to reply to accusations of creating El-Gouna Film Festival with a personal agenda. \u201cThe only reason we have this festival is because we love Egypt, and want to make its people happy. There are no ulterior motives behind the move.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that he was happy with the festival\u2019s turnout so far, as it demonstrates gains in reputation and momentum, \u201cThe number of films that applied for this year\u2019s edition are 60 percent more than last year\u2019s. We\u2019ve had sponsors who managed to cover half of the festival\u2019s expenses, after we did it all on our own last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorld renowned cinematic approached us to attend the festival this year \u2013 not the opposite, after last year we made a effort to make them come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you prove yourself, and do something good, people are encouraged to come,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n
The naming of a street after Mohamed Salah comes as part of a wave of appreciation for the star that has swept not only Egypt, but the world, after his rise to fame.<\/p>\n
Back in March, a Turkish restaurant in Liverpool announced that they would give out free falafel dishes with every goal Salah scored.<\/p>\n
Liverpool fans have made up numerous chants for the star, most notably the \u201cEgyptian King\u201d song.<\/p>\n
And last Ramadan, a traditional lantern in the shape of Salah was a great hit in sales across Egypt.<\/p>\n
Mohamed Salah rose to football fame between 2017 and 2018, displaying a spectacular season with Liverpool in the Premier League, leading his team to the UEFA Cup final for its first time since 1990, and being named the Top Scorer of Premier League, in addition to many awards, including the prestigious Golden Boot.<\/p>\n
The player was a contender for the UEFA Men\u2019s Player Award, shortlisted with football greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric.<\/p>\n
Salah also became a national hero after singlehandedly carrying Egypt to the World Cup for the first time since 1990.<\/p>\n
However, people\u2019s love for Salah comes not only for his incredible football skills but his renowned humility and great personality.<\/p>\n
The star is known for taking part in charity work, and featuring in charity ads for free.<\/p>\n
In August, Salah made the dream of a Syrian refugee, diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, come true as he visited him during the Reds\u2019 pre-season tour, in the United States.<\/p>\n
On a larger scale, he donated 12 million Egyptian pounds to the 57357 Children\u2019s Hospital, for new equipment back in March, as well as LE 8 million to his home village.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Gouna Film Festival, held between 20 and 28 September, will host three international stars: Sylvester Stallone, Owen Wilson and Patrick Dempsey. The festival is presided by actress Boushra.<\/p>\n
12 projects in development and 6 films in post-production will compete for awards worth over US$150,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Egypt\u2019s Gouna Film Festival founder Naguib Sawiris announced that he will be naming a street in Gouna after Mohamed Salah, to show appreciation for the national football treasure. In a red carpet interview at the festival\u2019s opening, Naguib told CBC Egypt that he made the decision after his brother, Samih Sawaris, suggested the pair name […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":107834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7863],"tags":[2484,35442,42430,38033],"class_list":["post-107833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-section","tag-egypt","tag-gouna","tag-mohamed-salah-street","tag-naguib-sawiris"],"yoast_head":"\n