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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Special Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Money on and off the field
THE THIRD international LG Cup football tournament kicking off this week is being hosted by Egypt for the first time. The four-nation lucrative tournament, which includes Romania's Steugra Bucharest, Hungary's Gazsar and local teams Ahli and the Arab Contractors, is open to the public free of charge but the prizes on offer are anything but cheap. The tournament, sponsored by South Korea's LG Electronics, is giving away valuable prizes not only to the winners but to spectators in the stands. The company is offering $30,000 and a trophy for the winning team, $15,000 and a cup for the runners-up and $5,000 for the best player. "This will be an incentive for all the teams to out-perform other teams in this tournament," president of LG's Cairo Liaison Office, B W Park, said. In addition, at each match, LG Electronics will offer five prizes from the company's range of products which include TV sets, radio cassettes, videos, refrigerators and other household appliances.
The tournament, which is scheduled to end tomorrow, is being played in a round robin format. The team with the highest number of points takes the title and the most money. All the games will be played at the Arab Contractors stadium.
According to Y H Kim, LG president in the Middle East and Africa area, sponsorship of the event by LG Electronics is a major step forward in football in Egypt. "This will open doors for opportunities for many young and promising Egyptian players to better their skills," Kim said. "We believe in servicing the communities in which we do business. In future we will also continue to sponsor major sports events in Egypt. Through staging such mega-events we hope to play our part in providing support to sports in Egypt as well as creating healthy forms of entertainment for families, especially the younger generation," he added.
"With constant encouragement from government authorities, the media and general public we want to work for the progress of sports here in Egypt," Kim said.
Added Park, "Through this tournament we want to provide an opportunity for the general public to see their favourite local teams compete against very strong European clubs. This will create a thrilling tournament where we will be able to witness a high standard of football. This also will give the two local teams, Ahli and Arab Contractors, an opportunity to sharpen their skills by competing against foreign teams," Park said.
The technical committee and referees, all members of the Egyptian Football Association, will supervise the championship.
The first LG Cup was held in Tunisia in August 1997, while the second took place in Iran in April last year.
