Al-Ahram Weekly | Sports

		31 Oct. - 6 Nov. 2002 Issue No. 610 Sports	Current issue Previous issue Site map
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Recommend this page

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It comes as no surprise that the Egyptians were thrilled with the announcement that Egypt had won the bid to organise the 2006 African Nations Cup. The celebrations over the victory were many and merry. But that over-excitement at that win has settled fast; the football fans of Egypt are now eager to win another, more important bid: organising the 2010 World Cup.
In 1986, Egypt organised and won the African Nations Cup. It was the third time that Egypt had been awarded the bid to host the African Championship. Then, Egypt had organised a total of 15 events -- that particular tournament twice before; in 1959 and 1974. Now, 20 years later, Egypt was once again given the honour of hosting the largest and most prestigious football competition on the continent . The tournament -- which will be held early in 2006 -- will be the greatest and toughest of them all, since for the first time the 21-day event will serve as a qualifying to the Germany-hosted 2006 World Cup in the summer of the same year. The two-year qualification route battles to a spot in the World Cup will become a thing of the past, and instead, the top five teams in the 2006 African Nations Cup will have the opportunity to compete in the world's most prestigious event in the world.
It seems that the CAF has been fair in its choice of Egypt for the organisation of the 2006 event, given that they have denied it the task twice before: 1989 and 2002. And critics believe that this time they have made a smarter choice, given the miscalculations of their past two choices. The '89 and '00 events, held in Burkina Faso and Mali, respectively, proved to be catastrophes -- getting progressively worse as the days went on.
Things now look more promising; 2004 seeing Tunisia as the host, and two years later, the event coming to our own home turf.
The event, to say the least, will be huge. The norm is that media and scouts flow to the competition. 2006, however, will be slightly different: they will flock, and pour, and overflow to the tournament, all trying to predict who the future World Cup champions will be.
Celebrations should stop now and hard work should begin right away. In the case of such a big event, four years is not a long time to implement a professional, organised, and successful competition plan. The Supreme Organising Committee must be immediately formed. Commissions should start working from now; each on a clearly defined, goal-oriented task. Regular meetings should be held seasonally in the first two years, and then monthly in the last two years .The Supreme Committee should follow the word of the commissions and direct them. The government should also provide all facilities to the Egyptian Football Association. Or actually, all ministries should cooperate together for the success of this spotlighted event.
It is important not just because of its place as a qualifying event to the World Cup, but it is also of significance because for Egypt, it means winning on home turf. For the fanatic Egyptians that is not just important, but vital. And to the non- football fans, the event should be looked at from a wider perspective. It is not simply a matter of the lifting of a cup, but rather, it can have effect on the touristic, economic, social, and even political arenas of the country. So for those looking for national success, hopes should be held high, and dreams should be great. The event marks an opportunity for Egypt to prove itself as a nation, and it marks a chance for the country to take on a revitalised style of preparation and show itself off to the world through the 2006 African Nations Cup.

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