Mahmoud Badr El-Din fell in love with football during its earliest phase in Egypt, when it was played almost exclusively in the secondary schools of the Egyptian elite. He had a brief playing career, but his talents lay elsewhere and he became a professor in the Faculty of Applied Arts. Football, however, remained a calling, and he became the first internationally certified referee from Egypt. His most notable appearance in this regard came at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he was a linesman for two matches: Poland-Hungary in round one and Italy-Japan in the quarterfinals. He also served as coach of the Egyptian team during this tournament.
Badr El-Din’s ambitions were far from satisfied, however, and he retired from refereeing during World War II to focus on the management and administrative side of the sport. Although several regional leagues and Cups had existed since the 1920s, Badr El-Din was instrumental in establishing the nationwide Egyptian Premier League, which had its first season in 1948/49.
Egypt