Plugging the cup
ONE of five African countries bidding to host the 2010 World Cup, Egypt made its official presentation to the world's football governing body FIFA in Zurich last week. Egypt's presentation was highlighted by an impassioned plea from the internationally acclaimed actor Omar Sharif, whose presence at FIFA headquarters overshadowed the bevy of former African football stars assembled by the various bid delegations.
The renowned Egyptian actor had prepared a written speech to deliver, however, when he ascended the podium, he preferred to give impromptu remarks.
Sharif recounted the first time he met FIFA boss Sepp Blatter, during the under-17 World Cup held in Egypt in 1997 when the latter was the body's secretary-general. Fortunately, said Sharif, after that event Blatter was elected FIFA president. "I cannot but present you the title of Platterious I, the last Pharaoh," Sharif said.
Hosting the World Cup, Sharif added, would mean a lot to Egyptians, especially the poor, who love football more than anything else.
Blatter said that he was impressed by the way Sharif conveyed the Egyptian people's sentiments and expectations, and the way the actor viewed life in general.
FIFA committees will start visiting the bidding countries to see first-hand which country is best suited to host the event.
South Africa, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia also presented their bids on the same day.
Good for Egypt
EGYPT's three clubs participating in the new Arab Champions League got off to an admirable start in the first leg of the preliminary round of the competition. Zamalek snatched an away win over Sporting of Mauritania 2-1. Hazem Imam, the team's captain, scored the opener in the 12th minute after a solo run through Sporting's defenders. Zamalek kept the pressure up resulting in Abdel-Halim Ali scoring the second goal five minutes before the break.
In the second half, Zamalek dominated, missing several chances to extend their lead. Sporting capitalised, pulling themselves back into the game when Senegalese striker Paul reduced the difference to one in the 62nd minute. Following the goal, the home side threatened Zamalek's defence more than once, but the opportunities to tie went begging.
Ahli drew with Morocco's Hasaniyyit Aghadir in a goal-less away game. The Egyptians could have won had they capitalised on the chances which came their way via midfielders Wael Riad, Sayed Abdel-Hafiz and striker Ahmed Bilal.
Ahli dominated the first half while counterattacks from both sides were the prevalent feature of the second. As the Moroccans built up pressure as the minutes ticked away, Ahli's head coach, Portuguese Tony Oliviera, preferred to shore up his defence to secure the draw, bringing in defender Shadi Mohamed instead of midfielder Gilberto. The two sides are scheduled to meet in Cairo in the second leg on 23 October.
Ismaili snatched an away 1-1 draw with MC Oran of Algeria. In the 30th minute Ismaili midfielder Mohamed Hommus scored the first goal -- the first goal in this new championship. The Algerians tied in the 83rd minute by Sufian Dawoud.
The Arab Champions League, which replaced the Arab Champions Cup, is the brainchild of Saudi billionaire Sheikh Saleh Kamel who is investing $7 million in the tournament. Kamel is owner of the Pan-Arab cable television network ART.
Winners of the lucrative nine-month event will garner a jackpot six million Saudi riyals ($1.6 million), while the runners-up will walk away with four million riyals ($600,000), one million riyals more than the fourth-placed team. Teams that are eliminated from the preliminary round would still get 50,000 riyals ($13,000).
Clubs will compete on a home-and-away knockout basis. The winning 16 teams will then be divided into four groups of four and play a mini league system. Starting from the quarter-finals onwards, matches will be decided on a home-and-away knockout basis. The final is on 23 July 2004.
Desert comfort
ON THE first day of the international futsal, or five against five, football championship, Egypt got off to a winning start, storming past Japan 6-3. However, in game two, Egypt was upset 5-1 by Argentina.
Defending champions Brazil, the Ukraine, Argentina, Belgium and Japan in addition to hosts Egypt, are taking part in the five-day event being played near the Pyramids in Giza. The round-robin tournament is being staged in a specially-made glass court. Al-Ahram establishment is the organiser of the event, now in its second edition.
Two matches are being played daily, starting at 4.30pm and ending at 8pm to allow spectators to watch the games in comfort before darkness sets in and cold desert winds begin whipping up.
Despite missing this year's event, Italian officials made the trip to Egypt nonetheless, mainly to watch the Ukraine, the newcomers who pose the biggest threat to established European futsal powerhouses. Ukraine was runner-up in the European championship and observers predict it will be the future champion on the continent, ranking alongside South American giants Brazil and Argentina.
Youth Minister Alieddin Hilal grabbed the opportunity in this European gathering to promote Egypt's 2010 World Cup bid. After returning from Zurich where he was part of the delegation which presented the Egyptian bid at FIFA headquarters, Hilal met heads of delegations of the teams to ask for their support for Egypt to host the football showpiece.
