Spain To Egypt: Amir Samahy’s Take On ‘Go! Padel’

Padel has recently emerged as the coolest and rapidly expanding sport on the worldwide stage. The International Padel has grown at an exponential rate from its inception to today. Originally, Enrique Corcuera designed the padel in 1962 at Las Brisas, a villa near Puerto de Acapulco, México. Since then, the padel has expanded internationally to reach all regions of the world, an ideal sport for people of all ages and athletic ability because it is easier to understand and needs technique rather than muscle. Brought to Egypt in 2014 by none other than Amir El Samahy, the founder and sports leading whizz of the Go! Padel Egypt club series. We are thrilled to present to you our chatter with him on his take on Go! Padel, his journey, and ceaseless accomplishments so far. 

How did it all start?

It was and still is a long journey. It was never easy at the beginning though, I nearly spent all my savings on the four courts I opened in Katameya Heights. I started in February 2014 in Katameya Heights but after working hard for four years in 2018, one of the biggest sporting clubs in Egypt – Shooting Club – was looking for someone to construct and manage their four courts, Go! Padel won the bid and that was the real boom for Padel in Egypt, when it entered one of the biggest governmental sporting clubs in Egypt.

What is Go! Padel?

Padel is a hybrid of tennis and squash. It is often played in a duo of men or women or mixed doubles on an enclosed court encircled by the glass and steel mashed walls. The court is around one-third the size of a tennis court. The ball can rebound off any barrier, but it can only contact the turf once before returning to the player. When the ball bounces twice in the opponent’s field, points are awarded. 

Do you have to practice Padel at an early age? 

Padel is a sport that responds to the qualities of its participants and can be done at any age, regardless of whether you are young or daring to start playing it at a later age. It is self-evident. Padel is a sport of balance and instincts, therefore with each practice, you will enhance these characteristics, which will also help you in other parts of your daily life. That is why we always have people who keep coming back to play and inviting new family members and friends to join. 

When did Padel become a significant sport in Egypt?

One of the things I studied is the evolution of padel throughout the years, from the late sixties to boom through the nineties. It all started with José María Aznar, a Spanish politician who was the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He was a padel freak, and hence, eyes were all focused on this sport ever since. Today, Spain has over 26,000 padel courts and still counting. Hence, it started to expand the worldwide nation of all countries. Egypt has on its own 65 padel courts where I own around 70% of the market, so I am extremely happy that a sport like this has reached the eastern region in a short period. 

Does it eliminate stress?

Practicing paddling is a great way to unplug from the outer world. There will just be you and your friends here between four walls. Even if the match is with coworkers, the Go! Padel will help you forget about other things and separate from your troubles.

 How did you decide that padel was your long-term thing? 

Well, long story short – I decided to take on squash professionally after college, so I moved to Spain. It was an epic decision back then since I have always wanted to work in any field related to sports by all means. I had numerous trials to bring it home with me in 2012 but it didn’t work at the time; however, in 2014, I gave it my best shot with Katameya Heights and all puzzles fell into place after ceaseless hard work and immense planning.  

Tell us more about the challenges you faced to get and build Go! Padel in Egypt.

The challenges were a handful at first, we are talking about a project that nearly cost a hot 1,600,000 EGP in 2014 which was a huge amount back then. I had to convince my friends to take a chance with me after excessive studying and researching to invest in this project. It didn’t come as easy as one might think. It took six months of learning the highest certificate coaching program ‘National Head Coaching’ in Madrid, managing the sport from A to Z, be it private lessons, building courts, rentals, and more. I also had to convince a major club as Katameya Heights to invest in my vision and it took a while but it paid off eventually. So, it takes belief, hard work, and dedication to make anything successful and most importantly sellable. 

You have more than 15 branches all over Egypt, are you considering spreading the sport on a wider scale? 

 Today, we are invested in continuous competition with the spread of the game. Go! Padel has 15 branches across Egypt. I opt to maintain the quality in each one of them, whether to bring the best coaches, build impeccable courts and provide the best equipment. I aim to put my vision of presenting fun and health in people’s lives into reality and to leave an imprint in the world of sports. 

Recount your journey, mentioning who was your support system in such a long and fruitful one?

 From a very early age, both my parents encouraged me to play sports, take part in a competitive environment and try new things. without fear or backing up. Once I knew I wanted to put my mind and soul to make Go! Padel happened, they supported the idea with no hesitation or doubts. They knew I had to put nearly all my savings into making that happen; yet, encouraged me to do my part of studying very well and measure the pros and cons of everything beforehand. 

Do you want your kids to be active and take on sports as well?

When I first was introduced to the world of sports, fewer families than today have been willing to encourage their kids to invest their time into playing sports. Luckily, my parents were keen on supporting this decision and that is what I am trying to do as a parent now. They don’t have to be champions but they need to be active and aware of their health. They can choose to pursue anything they want, for I will support them and their decisions no matter what. However, like with any sports, practice will help you tone muscles, particularly the legs and glutes, but the arms, waist, and back will also be improved by the many motions required to make the plays and stay fit.

It was just announced that Go! Padel is launching its first women and mixed tournament in the west, in which the tournament will take place from the 24th-26th of June At MALL OF EGYPT. Tell us more details about the tournament and how excited you are about it.

Through the numerous campaigns we are working on, I still have in mind different goals and aspire to reach them. I have endless passion when it comes to spreading the awareness of healthy competitiveness and teamwork today more than ever. Talking parents into allowing their children to be involved in sports and travel with their teams to compete in international tournaments to build their sense of belonging to their homeland is major to me. Making room for women to partake in such a vision is also crucial. The ratio is 8:1 for men to women when it comes to padel in Egypt. That’s why I am so thrilled to have worked on a ‘women’s movement’ initiative to shed light on an important category of society. This tournament and event will highlight the role of women in the sports section. 

Why is ‘Spread the Game’ the first women & mixed tournament in the west launched just now even after more than two years of the existence of Go! Padel?

This is a campaign I worked on with the City club to create fifteen locations across Egypt with all of its suburbs. We already constructed and managed the first three courts in Shebin El Kom, Kafr el-sheik, and Tanta.