Helmi Abou El-Maati took up football in secondary school in 1940 and joined the youth squad of his hometown Al Masry SC later that year. He soon rose to the senior ranks and remained there until joining Al-Ahly in 1946. He stayed with that club until his retirement in 1958, winning the Egyptian Premier League every year from 1949 through 1958, except 1952 and 1955. He also captured the Egyptian Cup eight times (1946, 1947, 1949-1951, 1953, 1956, and 1958). He also represented Egypt internationally, including at the 1948 London Olympics, where his country was eliminated in round one. He did, however, win the inaugural African Cup of Nations in 1957. He later coached domestically, as well as abroad in Libya. He died of a heart attack while watching the Egyptian Championships in 1997.
Egypt