Fresh air
There are new faces overseeing Egyptian football. Who are they and what are their goals?
A temporary football board has been appointed by Minister of Youth Alieddin Hilal in the wake of the Egyptian Football Association's (EFA) resignation following a dramatic drop in the level of Egyptian football. Inas Mazhar reports.
The board will run the association until election takes place in October. Essam Abdel- Moneim, deputy editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram newspaper, heads the committee. Other members are former Zamalek defender Aiman Younes, Tarek Ghoneim, Ahli club board member Adli El-Qaeei, Mamdouh Abbas, Ashraf Sobhi, Zouhier Ammar and the former head of communications at the African soccer federation, Viken Djizmedjian.
Two members of the board retained their seats on the new committee, Hani Abu Reda, the former treasurer of the EFA who was also recently elected as a CAF (Conféderation Africaine de Football) executive member, and Hisham Azmi, Egypt's 2010 World Cup bid coordinator.
The committee comprises six members who have links with Zamalek club either as players or former officials and board members, an issue which raised some eyebrows.
Association president Dahshouri Harb and his board resigned last week after a huge media and public blitz aimed at Egyptian football in the wake of spectacular failures: the early exit from last month's African Nations Cup -- Egypt failed to get past the group stage for the first time in 12 years -- the Olympic team, the so-called team of the future, unable to qualify for the Summer Games and, in fact, disbanded, and the inability of the Under-20 squad to get past the second round of the World Youth Cup played in the UAE early this year.
The board delayed its resignation for almost a month to ensure its members leave with a clean economic bill of health. A commission of investigators had been appointed by the government to look into the association's accounts. The committee found no problems.
"We can leave now with our financial reputation intact," Harb told the press following his resignation. "We are high-level sports and public figures in the country and we would not like our names to be soiled. We have been waiting for the past month, bearing the brunt of all the accusations of the public and officials until the committee finished its work. If we had resigned earlier, we would have been accused, falsely, of wrongdoing but now everything is clear. We can resign."
In his first comments to the Egyptian press since his selection, Abdel-Moneim said there were many challenges ahead. "We need to return discipline to the pitch, be committed and pool all the game's resources."
Abdel-Moneim, a former Ahli goalkeeper, told Al-Ahram Weekly that in his first meeting with the new board he would ask to meet the former presidents of the EFA boards, Harb, Samir Zaher and Abdou Saleh El-Wahsh. "We would like to hear about their previous experiences in running Egyptian football. It would help us to know why they have failed to develop the game and what were the obstacles that hindered their success so that we can work on avoiding them," Abdel- Moneim said.
He added that the committee plans to reorganise the administration work in the association and separate the jobs of the board of directors and the commissions. "That's our main priority. Everyone should be working without any interference from the outside," he said.
Other plans include assigning professionals to the competitions commission which includes the major event of the federation -- the national league championship. "The members of this commission will be elected by the 14 clubs playing in the premier league competition. It will be a full-time job."
On the issue of the day, the national team's new head coach Abdel-Moneim said the efforts of the former board would not be neglected and would be considered. "We will look into the files, reports, records and CVs collected by the previous board. Then we will decide what is best for the national team." Abdel-Moneim did reveal that the coach will be a foreigner.
Professional football was another important issue which the committee plans to study, he added. "We will work on the relationship between the players and the clubs and assess the salaries of players which have recently jumped."
Abdel-Moneim said the new board will not take any decisions without a thorough study and that he intends to ask the new board to vow to the public not to run in the elections in October. "We want to work freely without any obligations. We have a duty towards the public whom we don't want to let down. We are working for the sake of Egyptian football and not for our personal interest." Abdel-Moneim added that the coming stage needed complete dedication. "It's a hard job and we call on everybody to support the new board towards real achievements."
By Inas Mazhar
