July 19. 2019
Barça Residency Academy class of 2019 graduate Tarek El Daly has signed a five-year first team contract with Al Ittihad Alexandria SC, simply known as Ittihad Alex SC, an Egyptian soccer club that competes in the Egyptian Premier League.
El Daly, 19, reported to Alexandria on Saturday, July 13 for the clubs first training session in preparation for their upcoming season.
The team is scheduled to enter a three-week closed camp from July 20 – August 10 under Captain Talaat Yousef and the new technical staff. During the camp, the team will not only be preparing for the new season but also to resume play in the Egyptian Cup where Ittihad Alex SC will compete in the semi-finals on September 9, 2019.
“It feels amazing to play for one of the best clubs in Egypt and to be playing for a club with the third-largest fan base in the country,” said El Daly. “We have a great team and I look forward to competing in the Egyptian Cup semi-finals.”
An Egyptian native, El Daly moved across the country to join Barça Residency Academy for his senior campaign where he helped the U-19 Pre-Academy team to a historic season.
He and the U-19 Pre-Academy team were crowned 2018 Arizona Premier League Champions, 2018-19 U.S. Youth Soccer Desert Conference Champions and advanced to the 2019 U.S. Youth Soccer Far West Regionals where they bowed out in the quarter-finals – a feat no Barça Residency Academy/Grande Sports has done before.
“The development at Barça [Residency] Academy helped me a lot,” he said. “I will continue to work hard and to believe in myself.”
El Daly is joining an ever-growing list of players who are making the jump from Barça Residency Academy to professional ball.
Fellow Class of 2019 Barça Residency Academy graduate Matthew Hoppe is currently playing for German professional club FC Schalke 04 who competes in the Bundesliga. Barça Residency Academy alumni Julian Araujo is already making appearances for the Los Angeles Galaxy’s first team in Major League Soccer at just the age of 17, while Austin Amer is playing for Orlando City’s second team. Several other current players have been on trial with professional clubs from around the world and will soon be the next to make the jump.
