The PSA Men’s World Championship, hosted at the Wadi Degla Nakheel Club, is the most illustrious and iconic tournament in squash.

The competition gets underway on October 25 when two days of qualifying will see 64 hopefuls aiming to secure their place in the main draw to join the likes of three-time champions Nick Matthew and Ramy Ashour, and defending champion Gregory Gaultier.

World No.1 Mohamed El Shorbagy will top the seedings – as one of a 31 strong Egyptian presence – and will be hoping to improve on his shock third round exit last year and end his World Championship jinx while the likes of Ali Farag, Karim Abdel Gawad, Tarek Momen and Omar Mosaad will be just a handful of local stars aiming to secure their place in Egyptian sporting folklore with a title triumph on home soil during what promises to be an enthralling and intense week of action.

“We’re very excited to host the 2016 Men’s PSA World Championship in Wadi Degla Nakheel Club, Cairo this year and are delighted with the strength and depth of squash talent that has committed to playing in the sport’s most prestigious event,” said tournament promoter Karim Darwish – a former World No.1 and now sporting director at Wadi Degla, who have five clubs spread across Cairo with more than 500,000 members playing 20 different sports.

“Egypt, and Cairo in particular, has been at the heart of Egypt’s rise to squash superpower status over the past decade so to bring the most prestigious title in the sport to Egypt is a great honour for everyone involved and we’re really looking forward to welcoming the world’s best players here in October.”