AFCON hosting forces Egyptian league postponement

The Egyptian Football Association have clarified that the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ represented in Egypt replacing Cameroon as Africa Cup of Nations 2019 hosts was the major reason that demanded the postponement of the final rounds of Egyptian Premier League games.

Al Ahly had released a statement in which they criticized the EFA’s scheduling changes and listed a series of claims supporting their position, and stepped up their protest on June 8 announcing that they are resorting to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, FIFA and the International Court to demand that the EFA resolve four important problems in an official statement.

After Egypt got the rights to host the upcoming African Cup of Nations (AFCON) the Egyptian FA (EFA) announced that many league and cup games will have to be played after the continental competition.

EFA’s committee of competitions released the dates of the postponed fixtures for the Egyptian league title chasers Al Ahly and Zamalek, with Zamalek facing Gouna on July 23, before meeting Ismaily on July 26. Meanwhile, the Red Devils will face Arab Contractors on July 26 before their final clash in Cairo derby against Zamalek on July 30.

Moreover, the Egypt Cup fixtures were also announced as Al Ahly will face Pyramids in round of 16 on August 28, with the winner to line up against Harras El Hodood on September 1 in quarterfinals.




Zamalek will challenge Misr El-Makkasa on September 1 and the winner to face Ittihad of Alexandria on September 5 in semifinal, with the winner from Al Ahly – Pyramids v El Hodood to meet against Petrojet in the other semifinal encounter, and ultimately the final will take place on September 9.

EFA stated on Monday that Al Ahly’s demand to conclude the 2018/2019 league season before AFCON is a fair request, however the remaining time is not sufficient enough for games to be resumed as well as playing without the international players could put the competition validity at risk.

The Egyptian football governing body also announced that they contacted CAF to extend the period of players registration.

Source:EFA