The winners of the women's regional Championships in the Egyptian capital and the top two teams from the men's tournament will qualify for a place at the 2014 IBSA Goalball World Championships, which are due to be held in Espoo, Finland in June next year.

Algeria were the only African goalball team to compete at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, reaching the quarter-finals before being eliminated by Turkey.

Goalball dates back to 1946, when it was invented by Austrian Hans Lorenzen and German Sepp Reindle as a rehabilitation activity for visually-impaired Second World War veterans.

2014 World Championship hosts Finland won gold in the men's goalball at London 2012

Teams of three compete against each other, wearing blindfolds to ensure that all players have the same conditions, as they roll or throw a dodgeball-style ball containing bells at their opponent's goal with the aim of getting the ball into the goal, relying on the referee's whistle to notify them when a goal is scored. 

Finland took the men's gold medal at London 2012, defeating Brazil 8-1 in the gold medal match, as Japan took gold in the women's event, beating China by one goal to zero in the final.

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