In Conversation | How Soraya Mohamed Became The Viral Basketball Queen of Egypt

Last November, a video went viral on FIBA Basketball’s YouTube account. It was a compilation of Soraya Mohamed, aka “The Queen Of Egypt,” who FIBA dubbed a human highlight reel. In it, she is displaying her incredible skill on all forms of the court. Bobbing and weaving through her opponents with dazzling handles, dropping dimes like the best passers in the game, and getting game-changing buckets. She is a real phenomenon to handle on the court. 

“I can’t believe this is the first time I have heard of her,” reads one of the most liked comments on the video, a general representation of the awe her game has inspired in a wider world of basketball fans. Another dubs her “Cairo Irving,” contrasting her skill to Dallas Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving. On YouTube, Instagram, and Reddit, basketball fans worldwide ponder on the heights of her talent. Most people hearing about the Queen of Egypt for the first time are impressed by her bag of skills, and ask the question of whether she could hang in the best women’s league in the World — the WNBA. It might be the first time many recognised her talent, but this isn’t the first time Soraya has gone viral within a spread of worlds. 

“I didn’t know a video was released,” says Soraya to Complex MENA. “I was travelling for a championship, but suddenly I started to get all these followers on socials.. And when I looked more, I saw that FIBA released this video saying, ‘There’s a new queen here in Egypt.’ I was so proud to be representing my country in this way.”

Home Is Where The Heart Is 

Soraya was born in Cairo and started playing basketball at eight years old. Before choosing basketball, Soraya was an avid swimmer and tennis player — her sporting activities taking place at the Egypt Shooting Club, an institution famed for its spread of sporting activities that engage the community. Despite being multifaceted and enjoying the range of sports the Shooting Club had to offer, with the ball in Soraya’s hands and the spellbinding mastery she showcases, it was evident that basketball was her calling. 

“I went to many championships,” says Soraya. “The first one with the Egyptian national team when I was 15. I entered an African championship with the national team, and that was my first international championship. I won Most Valuable Player, and that was the turning point in my life. I couldn’t believe I got MVP in Africa at that age.”

Her parents were fascinated with her ability and have remained ever-present supporters of her career since that age. The family attended all her games, remained supportive during tough educational years, and this led to Soraya building an impressive youth resume as a potent baller. 

“My family is number 1 in everything I’ve achieved,” she says. “All the support and love would come from them — in my ups and downs, my parents were always there.”

Fast forward 22 years, and Soraya has become a star in Al Ahly basketball Club and the Egyptian national team in 5×5 and 3×3. She made her senior Egypt debut at the tender age of 16, an undeniable talent that won MVP in consecutive years at the youth level in the U16 African Cup in 2011 and the U18 African Cup in 2012. In those young years, Soraya had athletic scholarship offers from the United States and Spain, two basketball giant nations, but opted to stay in Egypt, joining Al Ahly in 2018.

Offers from other Arab nations to play basketball, like Tunisia, Morocco, and Jordan, were available too. Nevertheless, Soraya committed to Al Ahly and Egyptians national team. 

“I don’t regret not leaving. I chose to stay. I feel like it was fate,” Soraya explains. “I was meant to be here to see bigger things than I might have seen anywhere else. Maybe staying is what made me more known, because I’m here in Egypt, and people see me, they know me, they know there’s a unique player on that team named Soraya Mohamed. So I have no regrets about not travelling. It was what was written for me.”

The Queen of Egypt has been compared to the likes of Abou Trika, Ahly’s and Egypt’s footballing great, Ronaldinho, for his captivating skills, and crowned like Cleopatra for her dedication to the country.

“I love basketball, basketball is my life. I can’t imagine my life without basketball,” states Soraya, gushing with the chance to highlight her love for the game in FIBA 3X3’s documentary. It is a short YouTube video that covers a spread of moments within her career. Her ACL injury and comeback, her beautiful relationship with family and number one supporter husband, and her commitment to a community to encourage young aspiring Egyptian sportswomen. 

“In terms of the ACL, I learned so much from it. It made me focus more,” she says. “Before the surgery, my mindset was dark — I didn’t know how I would come back. But as soon as I did the surgery, I changed everything. I told myself I was going to be better than I was before. I chose to stay positive.”

There is an importance for young African and Arab women, as well as Soraya’s fellow Egyptians, to see women thrive in sport. Her generational spread of talent includes the likes of World Champion Squash player Nour El Sherbini, the “Golden Fish” swimmer Farida Osman, Karate champion Feiral Ashraf — the first Egyptian woman to win Gold at the Olympics, and many others in what seems like a golden age of Egyptian sportswomen. One of the most prominent moments the documentary covers is Soraya’s crowning year, her best year to date, spanning 2018 to 2019, during which she rose to a recognisable prominence.

Soraya Mohamed’s Crowning Year

In 2018, Soraya started to play 3×3 with Egypt and participated in her first tournament. She was new to this side of basketball, unfamiliar with its rules, and yet was encouraged to join the team for the African Cup Qualifiers. They won the tournament and qualified for the African Cup, in which Soraya would make a massive statement on the continent. “When I played in 2019, it was my best year ever,” remarked Soraya in the FIBA 3×3 Documentary. The team advanced to Kampala, Uganda, where they’d be placed in Pool B alongside Mali, Botswana, and Benin.

“I consider it the best year of my life because when I went with the national team to the African Championship in 5×5, I was named the tournament’s top scorer,” she says. “It was the first time in history that an Egyptian woman won an individual title in that competition. A month later, I played 3×3 in Africa — we won the championship, and I received both MVP and top scorer.”

Two wins against Botswana and Benin, one loss against a towering Mali, saw Egypt advance to the knockout stages. The Egyptians overcame Pool A’s top side, Uganda, in a tight game, and had a rematch against Pool A leaders Mali in the final, where this time they’d be victorious. Soraya won the MVP award, leading the scoring across all games with a tremendous 48 points, with 8 coming in the final against the 2 time African Cup winners, Mali.

Her Instagram boomed with followers enamoured by her skill. It was a moment that crowned Soraya at the heights of the African game, FIBA’s 3×3, and the Arab world of women’s basketball.

After a tragic ACL injury that kept Soraya out for over several months, extensive rehab in which she worked to get back better than ever, and a few years of no competition at the African Cup due to COVID, Egypt returned to the 2022 African Cup with Soraya a part of the team. This time, the finals were hosted in her city, Cairo.

The Egyptians went back-to-back, beating Madagascar in the final, and Soraya was the joint top scorer with 24 points alongside teammate Nadine Mohamed, who picked up the MVP. It was a great return for a now legendary player, a two-time African Cup winner, who has her eyes set on one final goal of taking Egypt to the Olympics.

California Dreaming 

The 2028 Summer Olympics, hosted in Los Angeles, California, are around the corner. Each Olympics is the pinnacle of sporting moments, encompassing a wide range of sports, such as football, basketball, Rugby, Tennis, and Boxing, in which grander prizes are at stake at individual/club and international level.

Though for an ever-growing game like 3×3 basketball, the Olympics serves as an immense stage to display the expanding level of the game. It was first added to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, making Paris 2024 its second, with California 2028 its third edition. After showing at the 2023 World Cup with the 3×3, exiting at the Pool stage, Soraya has one final goal. It’s to take Egypt to the next Olympics and compete with the best in the World.

“I’ve always dreamed of playing in the World Cup and the Olympics,” she says. “Thank God, I made it to the World Cup. Now the Olympics is the goal. I really want to compete there and finish among the top three teams in the world. I’m hoping to make it to the next Olympics and make history.”

Only 12 women’s 3×3 teams will make the Olympic cut. FIBA’s expanded format means one African team will receive a space through their federational rankings, and the others will have to qualify through high-stakes qualification tournaments in early 2028. The qualification window has been extended to 24 months, meaning Egypt’s performance in both 5×5 and 3×3 games will be considerably important. Every game counts for Soraya’s Egypt moving forward.

Not only would this be an immense opportunity for the women of Egypt to shine on the half-court, but it would give America a front row seat to the Queen of Egypt – maybe answering those questions on whether she could do it against the best in the World. 

“I hope people still remember me after basketball. I hope they say I changed something in the history of the game — that I left an impact. I want to be seen as someone iconic on the court, someone who meant something to the sport.”