FA recommends Egypt Cup with minimal fan attendance

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) is discussing holding the Egypt Cup limited to only 20 percent attendance, amid security concerns and roucous behaviour among fans. “We are trying to reduce the clubs' financial losses they suffer due to the football competitions stoppage since the Port Said disaster,” the association’s caretaker chairman Anwar Saleh told Ahram Online. The interior ministry refuses to secure football matches after more than 70 Ahly fans were killed after a Masry league game on 1 February. The country, that witnesses extraordinary circumstances due to presidency elections, is holding the third match since Port Said violence when Ahly hosts Ethiopian Coffee in the round 32 of the CAF Champions League, but security refused to allow fans to attend. “Egypt Cup will only be played in highly-secured stadiums like Cairo, Military and Borg El-Arab stadiums,” Saleh stated. “EFA is doing their best to resume the football activities and we are waiting for the African games to end to hold a meeting discussing the matter,” he concluded.