Zamalek sporting director John Edward has warned of a looming breakdown due to the club’s financial crisis, urging immediate action.
John Edward has accused the White Knights’ board of failing to deliver on promises he says were made when he took the job in July. Additionally, he sounded the alarm, warning the football team could face a complete breakdown within days if the situation continues.
Edward was appointed earlier in the summer as part of a club push to strengthen results across domestic and continental competitions. However, he noted that the instability caused by unpaid obligations and logistical disruptions has undermined both performances and planning.
The pressure intensified when FIFA imposed a new transfer ban on Zamalek, blocking the club from registering players for the next three transfer windows.
In a statement released Tuesday, Edward said he accepted the role out of duty rather than personal gain, but argued that “loyalty isn’t sufficient” without the financial capacity to meet supporters’ expectations.
He added that his plans were built on “promises and big guarantees,” including assurances that substantial funding would be injected to reshape the club’s future. Instead, he said, only limited sums materialized, enough only to cover player registration rather than address the broader crisis.
“No more postponed promises”
Edward said he stayed silent in recent weeks in the hope that conditions would improve, and to avoid discouraging fans. But claimed the opposite happened, with the crises multiplying and becoming more complex.
He also rejected what he framed as a pattern of stopgap measures, including repeated failures to meet commitments, accepting transfer bans as a fait accompli, and allowing key players to leave. Such steps, he argued, are incompatible with competitive logic and unworthy of Zamalek’s stature.
“I am clearly inviting all officials, not just the club board, to find urgent and real solutions,” he said, stressing that the club can no longer rely on “temporary solutions” or deferred pledges.
Edward warned that resilience alone will not hold. He said providing resources and institutional support has become “obligatory” to protect the club’s competitive standing.