Issue No. 610
Sports
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31 Oct. - 6 Nov. 2002 Issue No. 610 Sports |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Egypt -- at last!
THE 2006 AFRICAN Cup of Nations will be hosted by Egypt, the executive committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decided from their headquarters in Cairo this week.
Egypt polled seven out of the 11 votes cast, with Libya getting two and Algeria and Ivory Coast each taking a single vote. A four-time winner of the Nations Cup, Egypt hosted the tournament in 1959, 1974 and 1986.
Two members of CAF's 13-man executive committee did not take part in last Thursday's decision. Senegal's Mawade Wade did not attend for medical reasons and Chad's Adoum Djibrine was excused as a result of prior commitments. Nevertheless, the decision was made, and the outcome holds firm.
The 2006 tournament will double as Africa's qualifying series for the World Cup taking place in the same year. The four semi-finalists at Egypt 2006 will automatically secure World Cup slots, but CAF officials have not yet decided the basis on which the continent's fifth qualifying place will be decided.
The Confederation of African Football is considering a number of proposals on the best qualifying system for the 2006 World Cup. A special committee will be set up to study two proposals on how the 2006 Nations Cup will be used as a basis for deciding the continent's representatives in Germany. The decision to use the 2006 Nations Cup was made at the last CAF congress in Mali.
The first proposal is to allow the best five teams at Egypt 2006 into the World Cup. Had that system been in place this year, Cameroon, Senegal, Nigeria [the three teams were at the last World Cup], Mali and possibly DR Congo, would have been Africa's representatives in Korea and Japan. South Africa and Tunisia, who did not reach the semi-final at 2002 Nations Cup, would have missed out.
The alternative proposal that the committee will examine is to cut the number of Nations Cup qualifying groups to five, the winners of which would play in the World Cup. Meanwhile the top three in each group, plus one other country, would head to Egypt. This system would mean the number of qualifying games would increase -- definitely something African soccer leaders are keen on, as the loss of the World Cup qualifiers could cost them millions of dollars in gate takings and television revenue.
Egypt's former goalkeeper Ahmed Shoubeir said preparation for hosting the 2006 Nations Cup must begin immediately.
"We must start from today not tomorrow," Shoubeir told BBC Sport Online. Shoubeir, a member of the Egyptian FA, admitted that the prospect of an easier path to the 2006 World Cup in Germany had influenced their decision to bid to host the competition.
"As this competition serves as a qualifier for the next World Cup, we wanted to host the tournament and give our team a better chance of going to the World Cup," he said. Shoubeir said Egypt would host a competition that would prove their ability to host the 2010 World Cup finals, which will be awarded to an African country.
"We hope that this competition will improve our chances of hosting the World Cup on our own or with another African country," he said.
The test, critics agree, will come in the rigor of preparations, and just how fast this ancient civilisation gets onto the preparation track.
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